At Last, Autoroute 30, and it won’t only profit to trucking

I was quite joyful when I got the press release from the governments, because the federal is also involved in this project, which announces the selection of the partner chosen for the construction of this mystic road we are awaiting for the past 2 generations if not 3.

Here is how it translates, because most releases from the Quebec government is in French:
“The governments of Canada and Quebec are announcing the choice of Nouvelle Autoroute 30 S.E.N.C., to conclude the partnerships that will last 35 years for the conception, construction, financing, management, maintenance and rehabilitation of the prolongation of Autoroute 30.”

For your information, who is behind this company that is the private partner?

Acciona Concessions Canada Inc.
Iridium Concessions Canada Inc.
Acciona Infrastructures Canada Inc.
Dragados Canada Inc.
S.I.C.E.
Arup Canada Inc.
Construction DJL Inc.
Verreault Inc.

However, don’t be fooled by the names. Here are the real names.

Acciona Concessions S.L. a division of Acciona S.A. from Spain
Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras S.A. also from Spain
Acciona Infrastructures S.L. is another division of the first company
Dragados is a branch of Grupo ACS from Spain
S.I.C.E. is headquartered in Madrid
Arup is based in London UK
Construction DJL Inc. is from Boucherville PQ
Verreault Inc just got bought by Dessau also in Québec.

The top four companies are the ones that are going to manage, and finance the project. Arup is a specialist of electronic tolling, systems similar to the ETR407 and requires no manual tolls. The last two, from Quebec, are specialised in engineering and construction.

Who will get the bigger part of the financial pie?

I am not totally opposed to projects with private public partnership for a new infrastructure, even if we have been waiting for that roadway over 30 years now. Either the road passes on the north way along route 132 or in the middle of corn fields, what bothers me is that no company based in North America was chosen. Don’t we have any companies that can finance and manage such a project here, this side of the pond?

Was the proposal made by SNC-Lavalin not interesting enough for our governments?

We are on the edge of a meltdown of our economy and our government’s gives away to overseas interests contracts that the greater financial fallbacks are going to line pocket of strangers.

To take words of a former Prime Minister of Quebec, Master of our destiny (Maître chez nous), well I am not that sure of it.

3 Years, 3 Ministers, One Election Later…

It took 3 years, 3 Ministers and one election to arrive at a vote on Bill 41 in Queen’s Park, the Ontario legislative assembly yesterday June 16th. What is Bill 41? This is the measures that are going to limit your traveling speed at 105Kh/h across North America if you have to pass in Ontario.

Here in Quebec, last December, Minister Boulet confirmed that the dispositions included in the Quebec Bill 42 on speed limiters, won’t be in effect until all Canadian provinces adopt measures of the same kind for heavy trucks. We should remind her of this and that currently, only Ontario has passed a Bill that the applications are still in the hands of the Lieutenant Governor of the province.

Like if the rising costs of operations alone were not enough to slow down any professional driver that owns a truck. There are still some steps to be taken by the Owner Operators associations even if the assembly has voted.

I would like to apologise on the comments I had last week looking at the results of the online petition. It was the deception of the numbers considering how many professional drivers are going to be impacted across the continent.

Canadian, Ontario and Quebec Truckers are gutless

Only loud mouths on talk radio, on the CB and in truck-stops.

For the last three years, many papers, myself, on this blog and on XM Radio have tried to rally most of you and inform you about serious topics.

How many times have I warned you about the plans of the CTA and its board?

I had put online a petition on July 8^th 2007 so you could have a place to register your concerns about the proposal of large carriers and the Ministers of Transport in Ontario and Quebec to limit your income way before the oil companies took care of it with overpriced fuel.

For almost 11 months, only 956 persons, many of then Americans and people not even driving trucks, have put their names to this petition. If I consider that only in Quebec there are over 160,000 CDL or Class 1 holders and the majority of them are going to be affected by these measures. I can allow myself to simply say that many have no guts to fight for their rights and still accept submission without doing a thing about it.

I have thrown the towel, I sold my truck. I have resigned myself not to let a third party tell me how to conduct myself just like a preschooler. Yes I am still a Professional Driver, a modern day Cow-boy. The past motto on the Quebec plates was “The Beautiful Province” (La Belle Province) that was way before it became a poutine restaurant chain, now it is “I Remember” (Je me souviens) and I will keep in memory the days I could still operate my small trucking business the way I wanted.

If you wanted to sign the petition, it’s too late, I closed it.

While the Trucking Industry is in Crisis…

What are doing Minister Julie Boulet in Quebec and Minister Jim Bradley in Ontario to help the trucking industry?

One is passing a bill to mandate speed limiters on all heavy trucks, for safety and reduction of GHG’s, while the other one is announcing that 60M$ of our tax money is granted for intermodal transportation of goods in an effort to also reduce GHG’s and truck traffic on the roads.

Mandatory speed limiters, as described in Bill 41 proposed by Minister Bradley, may have some benefits for carriers based in Ontario by limiting the competition and putting another regulation on carriers using the roadways of the province to get elsewhere. (See link to the Bill). This doesn’t help to get a relief from the cost of fuel. http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/committee-proceedings/committee_business.do?Busin
essType=Bill&BillID=1959&locale=en&CommID=7348.

Across the provincial line, Minister Boulet will, with funds for grants,favour projects from promoters to develop inter or multimodal structures for the transportation of goods helped by Minister Beauchamps in order to reduce the 38% of gases made by the transport of goods. This either doesn’t help to get a fare rate with the rising costs of operations.

With the idling economy, factories closing almost weekly and the limited growth of the population, soon we won’t be carrying anything and we won’t be responsible of 38% of the GHG’s anyways.

I have a few ideas for the Ministers

1- We could make the world biggest network of canals to remote areas of the province and attract new tourism.
2- Ask Canada Post to replace motorised mail distribution in rural areas by pigeons. This may not reduce a lot of GHG but would give some relief to statues and spread out of the squares and parks the droppings.
3- Transform bike paths that are on old railroad tracks in railroad tracks to also help the remote areas and put people back on the trains like in the past.

Can we hope for some help from our governments to pass through this crisis with these kind of announces?
Make your own opinion, mine is made already.

Getting Back on Tracks

It is hard for someone, and I am only human, to get over the emotional shock of admitting a defeat. Being the winner is more gratifying even if this is an emotional shock too. It’s a long process that only time can heal but, when I decided to look at the snow melt on my truck and the grass grow under, it’s was also the income generator that I parked. Other decision had to be taken and they took time to accept.

One of the decisions was to only look at the grass grow, not under the truck no more. I had to clean the spot. Like many of us, I often said that I would make a lawn ornament with it and plant flowers around. I resign to the idea on 2 simple reasons, first I have no gardening skills, I needed the money to start up another project and I need to eat some square meals once in a while.

The thing that moves me this week other then the rising curve of diesel prices, is the steps forward of the Bill of Ontario’s Transport Minister Jim Bradley to mandate speed limiters as asked by his homonym David Bradley head of the CTA.

I’ll comment later this week on that topic.

I’m getting back on tracks. At least the Bradley Duo will have done something good for me...

April 1st, Not Only April's Fool

Too many said:"You can't get 2 truckers to agree on the time of day", This is the proof they were wrong. In Illinois, in Georgia, in Florida and in New Jersey, Independant drivers have started to make their point. We are not picking up the tab for every one else no more.

I will not blame anyone for a peaceful but yet powerful action. We are consumers too and we need the abuse taken from us stopped. We need to refuse to be put out of business to please shippers.

If you run on a contract that is leaving you with a profit you can live with, that's great and keep it up. On the other hand, if you are not making a decent profit out of your loads, leave them on the docks.

SAY NO TO CHEAP FREIGHT!

Fuel, Fuel, Fuel, When You Take a Hold at our Cahoonies…

The hot topic on trucking talk radio these days, everywhere in North America, is the rising cost of fuel and the turn down of many customers to pay a fuel surcharge in order to help the industry with these increases and the ones to come.

The word is out about a strike in the trucking community but, the only ones that can do a strike are the unionized drivers and this is towards an employer that refuses to negotiate a working contract. The correct words to use by owner operators and non-unionized drivers would be a voluntary stopping period by solidarity. It could be a day or more, why not! Many rumours are that this could happen on April 1^st, unless this is an April Fools day joke. I hope we will see a strong solidarity among the industry.

For the ones that don’t get their fare share of compensation for the high priced fuel, many are going to say that they need the income, so little it is. To loose one day of income is nothing compared to the losses you may have in a very short period of time if nothing is done to correct this situation.

It is not to our governments to take action on this matter. They can help us by taking down some taxes they get from the sales of fuels but our Honourable Ministers of Finances are all smiles with these new revenues coming in to the provinces. The higher the price is, the more money comes in from the percentage of the taxes. Personally, I saw this past week my first fuel bill with four digits between the dollar sign and the decimal point. Will we soon have to deal with a credit officer at the fuel desk instead of a cashier?

Before I took the decision of parking my tractor, my fuel costs were over 65% of my gross income. After many talk with the carrier I was leased with to adjust my fuel surcharge, and the same amount of no’s I got, I pulled the tractor beside the house and I decided to look at the snow melt on it. I currently drive as an independent driver for a small carrier I know in my area.

Many won’t be making the line at to renew their plates in Quebec on March 31^st and many are going to park some trucks nose to the fence until the crisis ends. How long is this crisis going to last?

I can’t tell because I don’t have a crystal ball. The one I used to predict the fuel would be at the $4 dollar mark before the end of summer was wrong. It happened before spring has settled in. As long as there are some carriers, small or large, that is going to haul freight at a cut rate, as long as the trucking association and the Owner-operator association won’t do a spectacular thing toward customers that still think that revenues are plentiful, this crisis will last.

Unless, and I am purely speculating, this is economic terrorism?

For the time being, why not do it this Tuesday and use a modified version of a popular racing phrase: “Gentlemen, do not start your engines!”

Speed Limiter in Ontario and The Rest of Canada

It’s one more step towards making the project of the OTA to make all Professional drivers #3 peas that the Transport Minister Jim Bradley has helped by passing to the legislature the proposal to limit speed of all truck doing business in Ontario. This in the name of safety, even if many studies do prove the opposite, and G.H.G. reductions, this either has not been verified yet.

Many of you reading this blog do know what a speed limiter is but for the others, it’s an electronic chip in the engine control module (ECM) that regulates the speed a truck can operate. This bill, like bill 142 in Quebec, proposes to limit to l05Km/h the speed of all heavy trucks with a GWR of 11,000kg or more. However, the owner can set it up to a lower speed like many large carriers already do. If you are working for a carrier that limits the speed of their fleet to 100Km/h, don’t expect an increase of your traveling speed.

At a time when fuel prices are in excess of $1.25 in Quebec and the national average in the USA is over $4.00, I don’t know any owner operators not doing all they can do to reduce the costs of the fuel they need to operate their business. This is the one item that can take all the profitability out of a small trucking business. At a time when more and more shippers don’t want to pay extra for a decent fuel surcharge in order to limit their costs as much as possible, I still don’t understand why some carriers of any size don’t impose one and accept loads at a lost or with barely any profits in it.

If you are wondering what is OBAC doing on this issue for the speed limiter, I will answer you that all is done but did you do all you can on this issue? Did you write to your member of parliament, faxed or emailed to the Transport Minister of your province? Did you sign up to the association? If your answer is no to any of these questions, you did not do all you can.

I have put on line a petition since July 8^th and up to this morning, less then 900 signatures are listed to it mostly from Canada and the United States. Once again, let the large carriers dictate the ways to do business and mostly, don’t come and cry about YOUR lack of action to protect your rights of a free enterprise.

With both of Canada’s most populated provinces with such a law in the books, the other are going to follow. What is up next? Mandatory Electronic on board recorders for the hours of service? Obligation to haul doubles or triples?

The least you can do is to give yourself a voice that will represent you and don’t let the governments listen to only one association that will do all it can to shutdown the small business trucker. The same associations that have cried to deregulate the territories are now asking the governments to regulate more and more how to do trucking when there is many laws already in place to regulate highway use,

Personally I only have one question to our elected officials and I am still waiting for an honest answer.
Will you one day think to have the highway safety codes respected by all road users before making up new rules?

Climate Change or Global Warming?

This Saturday evening of March 8^th 2008, if I look outside and at the thermometer, I am wondering if we should still talk of Global Warming. Geographically, I am located 75Km (47mls) north-east of Montreal. According to the statistics from Weather Channel, in March the average temperature is -2c with the warmest day recorded at 28,6c on March 28^th 1945 and the coldest, March 4^th 1950 with -29,4c. The worst snow fall is still in early March 1971 that is still recalled as the storm of the century in Montreal. The Boomers and the Boomex, like me, too young to be a Boomer but to old to be an X, still remember that storm which paralysed southern Quebec for three days.

As I am writing these lines, it’s stormy outside. M wife is stuck in Drummondville and can’t come home from work. The thermometer shows -7c and another 10 to 15cm of that white s*** is on the way overnight. This week, I was in Halifax and even there, some snow is still on the ground. Halifax is south of Montreal and in the Gulf Stream of the Atlantic.

I did notice, doing some research on the speed limiter issue that for every study on Global Warming, there is one conflicting it. However, the scientific community agrees to say that there is a “Climate Change” and I think this term applies better.

Reasonable Accommodation in Ontario

If you are an Indo-Canadian and mostly speaking Punjabi, you may not be reading this blog but, if you are an English speaking Canadian, this may have some interest to you. A new trucking association now exist in Ontario, the ITA (Indian Trucking Association) and this association has already made many demands to Transport Minister Jim Bradley.

With out being bigot in any ways or xenophobic, only a concerned citizen that is aware of some laws and would like to see them applied or modified, but to read that Minister Bradley has accepted to a demand of the ITA to appoint Punjabi speaking officers at major truck inspections points rose a question to me. The FMCSA law rules that a driver should be able to hold a conversation with an officer for safety reasons. Why is it here in Canada we can’t have a similar law that would require that a driver could at least talk one of the two official language of the country?

Even in air traffic ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation), a UN organisation headquartered in Montreal, stated that English is the air traffic language of communication for the same safety reasons and this worldwide.

OBAC will be asked to put pressure on the federal Minister of Transport to determine a disposition, to speak at least one of both official languages, in the Canadian Transport laws to ensure safety to all road users.

I looked in my crystal ball

Last week I made a prediction while one of my interventions on Livraison XTRM, a prediction I want to record here for future reference.

What is that prediction?

During a trip to Pennsylvania and seen a price of $3,699 a gallon of that precious liquid we need to do our work or to move ahead with our small business, I predicted on air that we would see a price of $4.00 a gallon before the end of the summer. Not only in some states but on the National average calculated by the EIA (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pri_gnd_dcus_nus_w.htm).

One more factor in our changing industry. How can we react to these price increases and what kind of impact it may have on our everyday life? To readjust the fuel surcharge is a viable solution but in the current state of competition, some won’t hesitate to take a load at lost only to relocate equipment.

How can we make understand that backhauls are a thing of the past and that all loads are to be moved from point A to point B. Do you know your costs of operations to avoid taking a full load at lost?

The most commonly used way to calculate a FSC is based on a price of $1.25 a gallon. This price is deducted from the current average price and then divided by 6. Why 6? This is an average mpg for heavy trucks.

Ex Current price $3.55
Reference price $1.25
Difference $2.30
Surcharge of $0.38

You can calculate with a different base price however, this is the mostly used price. Also if you take a load from a broker, assure yourself that you are given the full fuel surcharge that the broker gets. After all, you are the one paying the fuel bill.

Nice effort Mrs Minister!

This morning the Minister of Transport Julie Boulet announced a plan to upgrade the road network of Quebec for the 2008-2009 budgets. A well made plan of 2,7G$ that should change the face of the patchwork our network is currently in. Looking at some numbers in the press release made the few hairs, I have left on my thick skull, rise up.

The envelope of 842M$ that is allowed to fight the aging of the infrastructures is an increase of 88% of last year amount for the same framework. It is a step in the right direction but, if that envelope kept an inflation increase in the previous plans, we shouldn’t be surprised of the poor state of the bridges and viaducts.

Another part is allocated for the roadway surfacing and totalises 736M$ to put up significantly the network. The development of new roads counts for 774M$ and is mostly turned towards Autoroute 50 and provincial roads 175 and 185.

In order to maintain the actual network, 71% of the budget is being allowed to this field, associated with 1G$ for safety and correction of dangerous areas such as, curves, unpaved shoulders, ruts in the pavements, etc.

As a bonus, the projected 1850 construction sites will maintain and create 36,000 jobs for the workforce. This may not include the workers of the orange barrels companies or the sign makers.

The only thing that worries me in the entire plan. Is this budget related to the vote in the National Assembly of the provincial budget? Both opposition parties are only awaiting a chance to turn over the actual government and all this nice effort could be gone.

Professional Driver or Professional Truck Driver?

We all heard the expression “Freight Relocation Engineer” and had a big smile to have such a title that seem like a lot of school years are behind it. A true Professional Truck Driver is not only a Professional Driver. A coach operator is also a Professional Driver and must use a lot of skill and smoothness in driving.

To be a Professional Truck Driver you must demonstrate a good general attitude. How many times did it happen towards the end of the week that a load is dispatched to you and it will bring you away from home and you may arrive a day later? The true professional won’t let it show to the customers and other road users. The driver will stay courteous, respectful of the laws, safety because if Murphy’s Law kicks in, if something has to happen, it will happen.

The roads are going to be bad, the weather non favourable, the things to slow down are all present and many are going to fall in the temptation to follow to closely, go over the hours of service or cut off as many stops as possible. Others will be noticed by a lack of patience, sarcasms towards the receivers of shippers, mostly if a spot in the docks is not available and if one is, the freight is not ready to be loaded.

I could write pages on the reasons and the causes that make these events, the psychological way to deal with them but, I am not a psychologist or a social worker. Many, I am one, are going to act in an impulsive way and could start singing the famous Johnny Paycheck song “Take this job and shove it”. Easier for a paid company driver to do so then the owner-operator with all the financial impacts to act too quickly.

We all have a story that involves a “4wheeler” that did something really dumb but, we forget easily the hundreds that are showing courtesy, making a sign with their lights when the path is clear to come back. Did you ever think that is also a two way street? What kind of thought they have on the truck driver?

It is by all your actions on the road, on the docks and with the general crowd that you will let your professionalism shine trough even if you are not noticed for it but you will be greatly appreciated in any circumstances.

Only fools don’t change their minds!

By this blog, I declare that I am not a fool…

Last February, I wrote on my French blog some comments on my past participation on XM 172 with Jacques. We had our differences but today, after many talks, meetings and we have settled many things we had the differences. It is for me today a pleasure to announce that I will join the “Plante Brothers” and put back my 2cents on hot topics of our industry.

Over the months, I have made many contacts among journalists of the trucking industry and I will comment the news when asked to do so. Far from me the idea that I am a journalist, no! Only a commentator like I do here on these blogs since November 2006.

To top it off, Jacques as asked me to look over the news lines and the texts on the web site LeCamionneur.com. It’s a new challenge that I am very happy to take and I hope I will be up to your expectations. If not, let me know!

If I understood of properly, I should become the “Over the Road” collaborator to the program. If you come across my path on the road, gimme a hauler and we can talk about any topics of the industry with a cup-a-joe.

I was recently having a chat with my friend Toto and I was telling him that I missed radio but I had no means to fulfill my passion for the moment. I must say a great Thank You to J-F and Jacques Plante to allow me to be back on air. Together we should have the means of our passion to inform you, entertain you and listen to you.

It’s coming soon!

Stay connected to the web!

Mandatory Speed Limiters and Bill 42

On December 21^st, Bill 42 got the Royal Sanction to become a law. This means that the Minister, or the successor, can by decree, put the various article in application. I still have hope that one day our ministers will have their nomination based on their qualifications and not only their gender to please some pressure groups.

At my testimony to the Transportation and Environnement Commission in Quebec, I did get for you the confirmation that the Minister would not impose mandatory speed limiters until all Canadian Provinces have the same article of law on the books. It is now to you to inform about the impact such restriction may have to your elected officials in your provinces so your governments don’t kneel down in front of the Canadian Trucking Alliance and their demand. After all, the main reason is to level the playing field to their advantage and repress competition from within Canada and from the outside.

For the rest of Bill 42, one more time we witnessed the lack of backbone at it’s best. When it comes to alcohol levels, other then the fines which are now doubled, it is still left to a judge to give a ridiculous jail time mostly done during weekends or reduced for good behaviour. Nothing really serious for repeat offenders unless, they have killed while driving under the influence. Even the Minister did drop out of the bill the reduction to ,05 of the legal limit of ,08. In my book, this was only a tax in disguise. Putting the rule like the rest of Canada would be a good idea.

Mandatory use of snow tires is a good point. I can not as a Professional Driver oppose to that. If a fatality accident is avoided because a four wheeler lost it in front of a truck, or mine, I agree on the measure. However, I find that keeping these tires on until April 1^st is a little late for Antique or Muscle car owners that would like to take for a spin their prised vehicle on Easter weekend. This only applies to taxis and cars so, I will be able to take my bike for a ride on March 1^st weather permitting.

The ban on hand held phones totally misses the point by not including text messaging devices. If holding and talking on the phone is a distraction and a cause of accident, reading or writing a text message is even more. In other words, if your Blackberry is not used as a phone, you can read or write message while going off the road or rear ending another vehicle. That is if you don’t want to stop in a secure area to do so.

For the new drivers, this will now include drivers over 25 years of age. Even if they have achieved a certain maturity, they still lack the experience of driving. All the reasons are good to ask for a permit at a later age.

Finally the high speed drivers have not been left out. If only the Minister of Public Safety would put on his pants and force to limit any tolerance on speeding and on delinquents like in Ontario, our roads would be safer.

Maybe we should ask the government, because we don’t do anything here any more by ourselves, the construction of drag strips and tracks for street racers?

If we wait after them, and all the studies of the BAPE, the spotted bullfrog protection committees, and, to say like a radio person I know, the one-legged-croatian-lesbian groups, this will not happen in a short term. We are still waiting for completion of A-30 around Montreal for over 30 years…