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OTA Congress
get any residual value [on resale]?” Vise
asked.
Tumber said Kriska is already begin-
ning to discuss its own strategy for
replacing equipment ahead of, and after,
those higher costs go into effect.
“The timing of this probably couldn’t
be worse,” he said, noting Kriska aims
to hold new trucks no longer than three
years. “At today’s rates, you struggle to
say, ‘Let’s put more trucks on the road.’
But the reality is, we can’t be short-sight-
ed, either. We can’t mortgage our future
by not having an order in for a year then
having that lump in the snake become a
future problem.”
Focusing on what
you can control
Ron Uloth, vice-president of the Rosedale
Group, said his business is focused on the
variables it can control. It has better uti-
lized telematics to improve customer ser-
vice, while focusing on driver retention.
“There are things we can control and
we do that on a daily basis,” he said. “We
can control our warehouse hours, we can
control our driver hours, we can control
the payload on our trucks. We can also
control our empty miles. We can pay
attention to delay times on pickups and
deliveries, and idle time. That’s one area
that we’ve really focused on and we’ve
had some substantial savings.”
Putting the S and G in ESG
Asked about the ongoing issue of driver
misclassification, and the responsibility
shippers have to avoid using carriers that
wrongfully employ drives as independent
contractors, there was some frustration
voiced by the panelists. Many such ship-
pers have employment, social and gov-
ernance (ESG) programs in place, said
Tumber.
“I think what’s over-indexed in the
ESG is focus on the E,” he said. “We cer-
tainly work hard to make sure we know
what our mpg is and what that translates
into as far as our carbon footprint. But
don’t miss the opportunity with your cus-
tomers, when you’re sitting with them, to
speak to the S and the G. The ‘social’ is an
important aspect and the ‘governance’ is
an important aspect of ESG as well.”
Benefits of nearshoring
Looking for a bright spot in the econo-
my, Mark Knott, vice-president, central
region operations for Fastfrate, said near-
shoring – with more production of goods
moved from Asia to Mexico – will benefit
the Canadian industry.
“Absolutely, there’s tons of opportu-
nity there,” he said. But that, too, comes
with challenges. He noted northbound
freight out of Mexico is currently about
10 times greater than the freight moving
into the country.
Vise said FTR expects the benefits of
nearshoring to the trucking industry
will surpass benefits to the broader econ-
omy, since most goods crossing the ­ U.S.-
Mexico border travel by truck, and much
of it is tied to the automotive industry. TT
Driver Misclassification:
Know Your Rights,
Know Your Responsibilities
Some truck drivers in Canada are being denied essential
rights and protections.
If an employer treats a driver like an independent contractor,
but they work fixed hours for the company and use
its equipment, that driver may be experiencing
employee misclassification and missing out
on essential rights and protections.
Misclassification is harming the market
and making the trucking industry
less fair – and it’s illegal.
Together, we can stop misclassification.
Learn more about your protections, benefits and obligations at
Canada.ca/misclassification-trucking
DECEMBER 2024 21