Where’s the boldness? by Lou Smyrlis Boldness is a prerequisite for success, whether in life or in business. And it’s the one word that Charles McMillan, a former advisor to prime minister Brian Mulroney and one…
Road rage – has it come to this? by James Menzies “Don’t cause a crash, just bash your dash.” That’s the tag-line for a new product developed by a Vancouver company aimed at combating road rage. The Dash Basher is…
HoS tops list of concerns for US trucking execs by James Menzies At the American Trucking Associations (ATA) annual management conference in Orlando this morning, the American Transportation Research Institute (ARTI) released the results of an annual survey exploring the most critical…
A deeper look at offshore brands and retreading practices by Lou Smyrlis In my last blog I argued that the greatest threat to retreading comes from cheap offshore tires. Our research this year found that 18% of fleet managers and owner/operators are…
Are offshore tires affecting retreading practices? by Lou Smyrlis One of the first things I learned when I started writing about the transportation industry almost 20 years ago is that retreading is a damn smart strategy. Back then the…
An emissions-free truck plant – is it possible? by James Menzies Before anyone seemed overly concerned about the state of our planet, Volvo Group made the environment one of its core values back in 1972. Global emissions standards have pushed the…
A European outlook on cargo security by James Menzies I recently had the opportunity to attend the European Transport Forum in Brussels, Belgium which explored, among other things, cargo theft prevention practices in Europe. Based on the tone of…
There’s plenty to be learned at trucking conferences by James Menzies This morning, I arrived at the office thankful to see I still have a desk here. For the last two weeks I’ve been travelling – both near and afar –…
Are offshore tires gaining acceptance? by Lou Smyrlis For a few years now our research team has been tracking the perceptions and acceptance of the new offshore tires among both fleets and owner/operators. Our latest research, completed…
Don’t get too excited about latest shipment levels by Lou Smyrlis Statistics Canada’s report this week that manufacturing shipments heated up in July – they rose 2.3% — should be taken with a distinct grain of salt for two reasons.
The Truck of Tomorrow by Truck News I had the pleasure of getting behind the wheel of a medium-duty hybrid truck and going for a little test drive during the Great American Trucking Show in August.
Transportation now on the wrong side of the growth hump by Lou Smyrlis Revenues for Canada’s largest motor carriers shrunk in the second quarter, decreasing 1.3% on average. To me that’s further indication that trucking, and transportation in general actually, is now on…
What’s wrong with this picture? by James Menzies Mark Richards, a professional driver based in Windsor, says he’s being punished by the MTO for simply doing the right thing. The trucker admits that last year he was signed…
Boom in automotive shipments only a short-term reprieve by Lou Smyrlis Anyone feeling optimistic about what the summer’s rise in automotive shipments from the Detroit Three indicated about the future, should be sobered by this week’s news from General Motors about…
Emissions standards should apply to older trucks too by James Menzies Over the past few years I’ve been telling anyone who would listen about the environmental leaps and bounds being made by the trucking industry. I am always quick to point…
