Border Bottlenecks, Regulations Top Concerns for Ontario Shippers, Carriers
By Jonathan S. Reiskin, Associate News Editor
This story appears in the Nov. 5 print edition of Transport Topics.
For Ontario — Canada’s manufacturing hub and a heavy participant in North American trade — trucking executives say today’s key issue in transportation is to keep the fleets moving steadily back and forth across the border.
Motor carrier managers have long hated delays that reduce productivity. But now the issue has even become crucial for members of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, many of them shipper-customers of Canadian carriers. In “Easing the Chokepoints: A Plan for an Efficient Canada-U.S. Border,” the Ontario Chamber said:
“Government regulations and deteriorating infrastructure have made shipping goods across the province and to the U.S. a significant challenge to businesses . . . Cross-border operations on both sides of the border are faced with overlapping powers among government agencies, contradictory rules and increasing regulations.
. . . Recent breakdowns in Canada-U.S. negotiations concerning shared border management and the possible withdrawal of funding for a much-needed new crossing in the Windsor-Detroit region raise concerns about the future of Canada-U.S. relations.”
Amy Terrill, spokeswoman for the Ontario Chamber, said cross-
border transport “is one of our six key areas. There is a significant impact to this; it’s very important.”
When asked what concerns him most about Canadian trucking, Rick Gaetz, chief executive officer of Vitran Corp., the Toronto-based less-than-truckload carrier, said, “Border crossings are first and foremost. There is absolutely not enough infrastructure for the efficient movement of goods across the borders.”
There is some diversity of opinion within the industry, based on geography.
Terry Owen, CEO of Trimac Transportation Services in Calgary, Alberta, said his country divides into economic halves at Thunder Bay, Ontario.
“Eastern Canada is manufacturing, and they’re experiencing a slowdown. There is more of a supply of trucking services there than there is a demand, and that causes rate-slashing among all segments.”
Gaetz agreed on that point, saying he sees more pricing discipline in the U.S. industry than among Canadian carriers.
As for western Canada, Owen said the economy “is more resource-based. There is a very strong bias toward commodities: mining, agriculture, oil sands and construction.”
Trimac specializes in hauling goods in bulk throughout Canada and the United States, and Owen said business in his home region is good. “Residential, commercial and industrial construction are all extremely strong,” he said.
With high demand for oil field and construction workers, Owen said one of his biggest problems is keeping drivers in the cabs of his tractors.
“In western Canada, there’s a very significant shortage of drivers, and the situation also spills over into mechanics and tank washers. We’re very active in recruiting and retention to keep current employees and then get new ones,” he said.
However, Ontario is the most populous of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories, and cross-border commerce is the backbone of its economy.
“No country on the planet is as dependent upon trade as Canada is with the U.S.,” said David Bradley, who is both CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance and president of the Ontario Trucking Association.
“Twenty-five percent of Canada’s gross domestic product comes from trade with the U.S., and anything that disrupts that has a significant impact on Canada,” Bradley said. He and the Ontario Chamber pointed out that Canadians are also major purchasers of U.S. goods and that the two countries combine to make automobiles.
“International trade is more important to Canadian carriers than those in the U.S.,” Gaetz said, “because the Canadian domestic market is so much smaller. Especially in Ontario, cross-border business is a far more vital piece of the pie for the Canadian trucker than in the U.S.”
Some of the trade problems are self-inflicted, such as city traffic through Windsor, Ontario, leading to the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit. Bradley is fond of the anecdote that once a truck hits the highway out of Toronto to drive to Miami, the driver encounters 17 stop lights, 16 of which are on Windsor’s Huron Church Road leading to the bridge.
However, Bradley and Gaetz, in separate interviews, attributed most of the difficulties they mentioned to a lack of cooperation between governments.
“The Ambassador Bridge,” said Gaetz, “cannot handle all of this volume. The governments of Ontario and Michigan have looked for sites for a second bridge, but it hasn’t been enough. Detroit-
Windsor is the biggest issue, but it’s important everywhere.”
Bradley said crossings at several major bridges have been difficult, “with the Blue Water Bridge bearing the brunt of it.” Blue Water spans the St. Claire River between Sarnia, Ontario, and Port Huron, Mich. It is particularly important because it handles certain hazardous materials that are banned at Ambassador.
The Bar-Code Border, an Ottawa-based news letter specializing in cross-border commerce, said 2007 was the “summer from hell” at Blue Water. After witnessing backups of more than four miles, the Ontario Ministry of Transport went so far as to install portable toilets by the side of Highway 402.
Bradley said border security rules have slowed trade, and he expressed disappointment with the gap between what top officials say and what actually happens.
“You’ll see the presidents of the United States and Mexico and the Canadian prime minister talk about the need for efficiency at the borders, but the governments continue to heap costs and inefficiencies on the supply chain,” he said.
As an example, Bradley said Canadian carriers were looking forward to an experiment with reverse inspections at the Peace Bridge. That would mean Canadian inspectors in Buffalo and Americans in Fort Erie, Ontario.
“Sometimes when you fly to the U.S. from Canada, you can clear U.S. Customs while still in Canada. This would be similar.
“There was an agreement for a pilot program on this, but the U.S. Department of Homeland Security suddenly said, ‘No.’ The leaders of the countries, it seems, gather for photo ops, but then there is a unilateral back out.”
The Ontario Chamber’s report is not structured in terms of threats made at an enemy. It offers recommendations that focus on cooperation and consultation between governments so that businesses on both sides of the border can earn a dollar — United States or Canadian. It diffuses the drama of war with the tedium of regulation, such as:
“In Canada, cheese-flavoured popcorn must contain no more than 49% real cheese, whereas in the U.S., cheese-flavoured popcorn must have no less than 53%.
“In Canada, fortified orange juice is classified as a drug, but in the U.S., fortified orange juice is classified as a food.”
Having to square such distinctions between the two countries, the report said, “wastes resources, reduces productivity and increases costs for consumers and manufacturers.”
This story appears in the Nov. 5 print edition of Transport Topics.
For Ontario — Canada’s manufacturing hub and a heavy participant in North American trade — trucking executives say today’s key issue in transportation is to keep the fleets moving steadily back and forth across the border.
Motor carrier managers have long hated delays that reduce productivity. But now the issue has even become crucial for members of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, many of them shipper-customers of Canadian carriers. In “Easing the Chokepoints: A Plan for an Efficient Canada-U.S. Border,” the Ontario Chamber said:
“Government regulations and deteriorating infrastructure have made shipping goods across the province and to the U.S. a significant challenge to businesses . . . Cross-border operations on both sides of the border are faced with overlapping powers among government agencies, contradictory rules and increasing regulations.
. . . Recent breakdowns in Canada-U.S. negotiations concerning shared border management and the possible withdrawal of funding for a much-needed new crossing in the Windsor-Detroit region raise concerns about the future of Canada-U.S. relations.”
Amy Terrill, spokeswoman for the Ontario Chamber, said cross-
border transport “is one of our six key areas. There is a significant impact to this; it’s very important.”
When asked what concerns him most about Canadian trucking, Rick Gaetz, chief executive officer of Vitran Corp., the Toronto-based less-than-truckload carrier, said, “Border crossings are first and foremost. There is absolutely not enough infrastructure for the efficient movement of goods across the borders.”
There is some diversity of opinion within the industry, based on geography.
Terry Owen, CEO of Trimac Transportation Services in Calgary, Alberta, said his country divides into economic halves at Thunder Bay, Ontario.
“Eastern Canada is manufacturing, and they’re experiencing a slowdown. There is more of a supply of trucking services there than there is a demand, and that causes rate-slashing among all segments.”
Gaetz agreed on that point, saying he sees more pricing discipline in the U.S. industry than among Canadian carriers.
As for western Canada, Owen said the economy “is more resource-based. There is a very strong bias toward commodities: mining, agriculture, oil sands and construction.”
Trimac specializes in hauling goods in bulk throughout Canada and the United States, and Owen said business in his home region is good. “Residential, commercial and industrial construction are all extremely strong,” he said.
With high demand for oil field and construction workers, Owen said one of his biggest problems is keeping drivers in the cabs of his tractors.
“In western Canada, there’s a very significant shortage of drivers, and the situation also spills over into mechanics and tank washers. We’re very active in recruiting and retention to keep current employees and then get new ones,” he said.
However, Ontario is the most populous of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories, and cross-border commerce is the backbone of its economy.
“No country on the planet is as dependent upon trade as Canada is with the U.S.,” said David Bradley, who is both CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance and president of the Ontario Trucking Association.
“Twenty-five percent of Canada’s gross domestic product comes from trade with the U.S., and anything that disrupts that has a significant impact on Canada,” Bradley said. He and the Ontario Chamber pointed out that Canadians are also major purchasers of U.S. goods and that the two countries combine to make automobiles.
“International trade is more important to Canadian carriers than those in the U.S.,” Gaetz said, “because the Canadian domestic market is so much smaller. Especially in Ontario, cross-border business is a far more vital piece of the pie for the Canadian trucker than in the U.S.”
Some of the trade problems are self-inflicted, such as city traffic through Windsor, Ontario, leading to the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit. Bradley is fond of the anecdote that once a truck hits the highway out of Toronto to drive to Miami, the driver encounters 17 stop lights, 16 of which are on Windsor’s Huron Church Road leading to the bridge.
However, Bradley and Gaetz, in separate interviews, attributed most of the difficulties they mentioned to a lack of cooperation between governments.
“The Ambassador Bridge,” said Gaetz, “cannot handle all of this volume. The governments of Ontario and Michigan have looked for sites for a second bridge, but it hasn’t been enough. Detroit-
Windsor is the biggest issue, but it’s important everywhere.”
Bradley said crossings at several major bridges have been difficult, “with the Blue Water Bridge bearing the brunt of it.” Blue Water spans the St. Claire River between Sarnia, Ontario, and Port Huron, Mich. It is particularly important because it handles certain hazardous materials that are banned at Ambassador.
The Bar-Code Border, an Ottawa-based news letter specializing in cross-border commerce, said 2007 was the “summer from hell” at Blue Water. After witnessing backups of more than four miles, the Ontario Ministry of Transport went so far as to install portable toilets by the side of Highway 402.
Bradley said border security rules have slowed trade, and he expressed disappointment with the gap between what top officials say and what actually happens.
“You’ll see the presidents of the United States and Mexico and the Canadian prime minister talk about the need for efficiency at the borders, but the governments continue to heap costs and inefficiencies on the supply chain,” he said.
As an example, Bradley said Canadian carriers were looking forward to an experiment with reverse inspections at the Peace Bridge. That would mean Canadian inspectors in Buffalo and Americans in Fort Erie, Ontario.
“Sometimes when you fly to the U.S. from Canada, you can clear U.S. Customs while still in Canada. This would be similar.
“There was an agreement for a pilot program on this, but the U.S. Department of Homeland Security suddenly said, ‘No.’ The leaders of the countries, it seems, gather for photo ops, but then there is a unilateral back out.”
The Ontario Chamber’s report is not structured in terms of threats made at an enemy. It offers recommendations that focus on cooperation and consultation between governments so that businesses on both sides of the border can earn a dollar — United States or Canadian. It diffuses the drama of war with the tedium of regulation, such as:
“In Canada, cheese-flavoured popcorn must contain no more than 49% real cheese, whereas in the U.S., cheese-flavoured popcorn must have no less than 53%.
“In Canada, fortified orange juice is classified as a drug, but in the U.S., fortified orange juice is classified as a food.”
Having to square such distinctions between the two countries, the report said, “wastes resources, reduces productivity and increases costs for consumers and manufacturers.”
