Tuesday, May 24, 2005

SPOTLIGHT: Trucks

Jockeying for position

CAR drivers convinced that they’re jockeying for space with more trucks on the roads might want to lay off the horn, according to a new study.

The study, which takes an in-depth look at the competition for space on the nation's roads, found that between 2000 and 2003, the number of trucks actually edged down 0.2%. At the same time, there were 5.5% more cars on the roads.

In other words, for every truck registered with a provincial or territorial government in 2000, there were 25 cars. Three years later, there were 27 cars for every registered truck.

In terms of the largest trucks such as 18-wheelers, there were 63 cars for every truck in 2003, up from 62 in 2000.

However, the likelihood that car drivers encounter trucks is higher because trucks were driven 2.5 times more kilometres on average than cars. As a result, car drivers are likely to see more trucks on the road than the registration counts would suggest.

The chances of encountering a truck vary with the day of the week, the time of the day and the location. Trucks are relatively more 'visible' than cars during weekdays, at night and at border crossings.

Competition intense

The study suggests that with the population on the rise and the economy growing, the competition is likely to get even more intense.

The study uses data on registrations and performance from the Canadian Vehicle Survey. This is a voluntary vehicle-based survey started in 1999 and conducted by Statistics Canada.

Trucks are more ‘visible’ on the road not just because they are bigger. They also travel longer distances than cars on average, increasing the likelihood to encounter them on the road.

In 2000, trucks traveled an estimated 26.6 billion km, compared with an estimated 282 billion km for cars.

Three years later, trucks traveled about 25 billion km, a 7% decline. However, the estimated distance for cars was 286 billion, a 1.5% gain.

‘Just-in-time’

A major factor in truck traffic on roads these days is the concept of "just-in-time" delivery of freight, whereby factories require delivery that's synchronized with manufacturing processes.

The trucking industry has become so efficient that manufacturing plants and other businesses can use them as warehouses on wheels. Parts and products are scheduled to arrive as they are needed, rather than taking up space on a warehouse floor.

In addition, one of the fastest growing sources of business has been linked to cross-border trade. Road dominated as a means of transportation for trade between Canada and the United States in 2003. In terms of revenue, over 53% of Canadian exports and 79% of imports were moved by truck.

Carriers hauled 8.7 million shipments across the Canada-US border in 2003, with freight totalling more than 85 million tonnes.

Transborder shipments generated $8.0 billion in revenues. They accounted for 22% of total shipments and 47% of revenues.

You can read the analytical article “Too many trucks on the road?” on our website.

For more information, contact Gord Baldwin (613-951-0407), Transportation Division.

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© 2004, 2005 Statistics Canada.