September 2010 Volume 30, Issue 9 Delivering daily news to Canada’s trucking industry at www.trucknews.com
No room? No prob.
Paying it forward
Frustrated with Marine Atlantic, fleet owner leases own barge
By Ingrid Phaneuf MOUNT PEARL, Nfld. – Four months after Marine Atlantic implemented a reservation system to replace the first come, first served ferry system for commercial trucks running in and out of Newfoundland, truckers are still saying wait times for spots on board are far too long. In fact, one trucking company has gone so far as to lease its own barge for three years to ensure its loads arrive on time. Greer Hunt, owner of Hunt’s Transport with terminals in Mount Pearl, Nfld. and Hamilton, Ont. says it was taking weeks to book slots using the new reservation system implemented by Marine Atlantic in the spring. So he chartered a 50-spot barge out of Hamilton, Ont. to run his trucks and their loads through Ontario and up the St. Lawrence River to a dock in the Long Pond area of Conception Bay South in eastern Newfoundland, and back. “The delays were affecting our business,” says Hunt, whose company hauls lumber and building supplies, among other things. “With Mar ine Atlantic, we couldn’t make the turnaround of trucks in weeks when we used to
Good deeds help O/O earn top industry award By James Menzies FERGUS, Ont. – Howard ‘Bulldog’ Brouwer had a pretty good hunch he would be named the 2010 Truck News Owner/Operator of the Year. Not because he’s cocky; he’s anything but. However, just days after being notified he was being considered for the prestigious award, he went to a Chinese restaurant with another driver. After his meal, he cracked open his fortune cookie and received the following message: ‘You will soon be awarded in public.’ “I said ‘If that’s not an omen, nothing is,’ and I kept it in my wallet,” Brouwer recalls. Brouwer, owner of H&G Enterprises out of Welland, Ont. was named the 17th annual Truck News Owner/Operator of the Year during a special ceremony at the Fergus Truck Show July 23. Often, the national award goes to an owner/operator borne of a trucking family with a lifelong passion for driving. This year, not so much. “I hated driving,” Brouwer ad-
It’s in the cards: Truck News Owner/Operator of the Year, Howard Brouwer, received a fortune cookie that foretold of his achievement. ‘You will soon be awarded in public,’ it read. Photo by Adam Ledlow
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Safety systems take center stage
Inside This Issue...
• The best of Fergus: A complete listing of Fergus Truck Show show’n’shine winners along with some of our best photos from the show. Pages 18-19
• What’s your score?: Cross-border fleets should be taking
steps to see where they stand under the CSA 2010 safety regime. We look at several options. Page 37
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• Fuel wars: Truck makers are at war over who has the most fuel efficient offering and customers stand to benefit.
See pg. 48
Page 46
• Show, shine’n…shrug: Mark Dalton shows up at the Fergus Truck Show and gets a rude awakening.
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