DID YOU KNOW?
...The world uses a cubic mile of oil a year, costing almost US$2trillion. But some 94% of the worlds oil reserves are held by governments that don't know or won't reveal the size of their holding.
...Biodiesel fuel contains about 8% less energy per U.S. gallon than petroleum diesel, sometimes more depending on the source.. For someone using a B20 mix (20% biodiesel, 80% petro-diesel), this means at least a 1-2% loss in power, torque, and fuel efficiency.
...The lifetime energy requirement of a Hummer -- including everything from the energy consumed in its original design, its life in a consumer's hands, right through to its junkyard disposal -- is US$1.90 per mile, a Dodge Durango just $1.57. A Toyota Prius hybrid's 'dust to dust' cost, on the other hand, is $2.86, according to a comprerhensive analysis by Oregon-based CNW Marketing Research Inc. For 10 models of gas-electric hybrids, it's $3.65, but Ford's Expedition is a mere $3.54.
...In the third quarter OF 2006, Canada’s top 91 for-hire carriers (Canadian-based trucking companies earning $25 million or more annually) generated operating revenue of $2.4 billion and operating expenses of $2.3, both almost unchanged from the preceding quarter. Average per carrier revenue increased 5.0% from the third quarter of 2005 to $26.4 million, while average per carrier expenses increased 5.5% to $24.7 million. That meant an operating ratio (operating expenses divided by operating revenue) of 0.94, compared with 0.93 in the third quarter of 2005.
...Every year, there are roughly ten million truck trips across the Canada-U.S. border, with the value of goods carried totaling approximately $400 billion.
...Canada has more than 900,000 kilometres of public roads. The 7,300-kilometre Trans Canada Highway is the country’s major east-west route, linking all 10 provinces. The road network includes a large number of crossing points with the US, 18 of which are major trade gateways.
...As a percentage of Canada's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), trucking contributes more than air, rail, and water modes combined. In 2005 it represented 1.4% of GDP compared to 0.4% for air, 0.6% for rail, and 0.1% for water. Commercial transportation industries at large accounted for $45.2 billion, or 4.2% of GDP. This was unchanged up from 4.1 in 2004. Trucking made up $15.4 billion of the total output.
...Vehicles registered in Canada travelled an estimated 90.4 billion kilometres in the third quarter of 2006, the highest level since 2003, when 90.8 billion kilometres were driven. Light vehicles, such as cars, sport-utility vehicles, mini-vans and pick-up trucks, accounted for 91% of the total.
...Among the 3,000 or so Canadian for-hire fleets with annual revenues of $1 million or more, there are about 55,600 company-owned tractors and 34,700 run by owner-operators.
...Like the Canadian workforce overall, our driver population is aging. In 1991 the largest proportion of both truck drivers and the workforce at large was in the 30-34-year-old age group. By 1996, the biggest proportion for both had moved to 35-39 years old. And in the last census, in 2001, the largest proportion of both groups had shifted to the 40-44-year-old range.
...The proportion of drivers 50 years or older has increased over the past 10 years from 19 to 27%. The overall proportion of working Canadians who are 50 and older has also increased in that time, but not by quite as much – from 18 to 23%.
...A 2003 study shows that Canadian heavy trucks are less likely to be speeding excessively than light vehicles. Heavy vehicle speeds above 120 km/h were observed only rarely, whereas up to 15% of light vehicle traffic was travelling in excess of 120 km/h.
...Compared to light vehicles, heavy trucks lose fuel economy at a faster rate at higher speeds. Speeds of 90 compared to 100 km/h improves fuel consumption by about 10%, but only 5% in a light vehicle. Compared to 120 km/h in a heavy truck, the saving at 90 km/h is a whopping 40%.
...In the first quarter of 2005, owner operators working for general-freight carriers drove a whopping 1.13 billion km, 15.3% more than in the corresponding period a year before. Company drivers drove 15.0% less than the year before, at 1.47 billion km. Total distance covered by all general-freight drivers dropped 110 million km in the quarter, year to year.
...In the second quarter of 2005, the trend of increasing owner-operator mileage amongst general-freight carriers continued. Owner-ops drove 937.4 million km, fully 22.7% more than in the same quarter of 2004. As in the first quarter of 2005, company drivers drove less, covering 1.59 billion km, down 2.2%.
...The biggest for-hire carrier in the United States in 2004, not counting UPS and FedEx, was Yellow Roadway Corp. Its 17,447 tractors and 62,289 trailers generated revenue of US$6.12 billion.
...Canada's biggest for-hire fleet, as of March 2005, was Quebec's Transforce Inc., with 3359 tractors and 8824 trailers for a total of 12,183 vehicles.
...Every year more than 13 million trucks cross the Canada/United States border. Amazingly, that's one truck every two-and-a-half seconds!
...Heavy trucks pay for more than $500 million in federal fuel taxes every year, while the federal government spends les than $200 million highways.
...A typical tractor-trailer can easily account for $40,000 in taxes paid to all levels of government in a a single year.
...Tractor-trailers make up over 15% of all vehicles on Canadian roads, but they account for less than 2% of vehicloes involved in collisions.
...In 2007 when the next diesel emissions standards kick in, truck engines will emit only 2% of the soot – particulates – that they spewed out in 1987.
...Approximately 690,000 trucks are registered in Canada, but only about 165,000 of them are tractors pulling freight trailers down the highway. The vast majority are straight trucks in local use.
...In 2001, for-hire trucks alone contributed two and a half times more to Canada's gross domestic product than railways did.
...There are 1.4 million kilometres of roads in Canada but only 25,196 kilometres of main intercity highways.
...In 2001 Canada's for-hire trucks – including city P&D machines – had an average fuel-economy rate of 2.8 km/litre (7.9 mpg). That's a vast improvement over 1990 when they managed only 2.0 km/litre (about 6.1 mpg).
...In 2003, the 2200 or so long-distance for-hire trucking companies based in Canada with annual billings over $1 million generated $16.8 billion in revenues, an increase of 7.5% from 2002.
...Transborder movements by Canadian for-hire carriers accounted for 22% of total trucking shipments and 47% of revenues in 2003. Those fleets hauled 8.7 million shipments across the Canada/U.S. border that year, generating revenue of some $8.0 billion.
...There are almost as many working truck drivers in Canada (nearly 264,000) as there are total employees in the fishing, mining, forestry, and oil and gas industries combined (about 285,000). Transportation and warehousing together employ some 610,000 Canadians.
...More than 25% of all Canadian commercial trucks with a gross weight above 4500 kg (10,000 lb) work in Ontario. Another 25% are toiling away in Alberta, many of them in the oil fields, and nearly 20% operate in Quebec.
...There are about 25,000 carriers in Canada whose sole business is hauling freight for hire, including one-truck owner-operators with their own operating licences. That's twice as many as there were in 1984, four years prior to deregulation of the industry.
...About 37,000 new truck drivers will be needed each year between now and 2008 in order to keep up with forecast economic growth and normal attrition.
...Private-fleet and government trucks outnumber for-hire power units by about three to one – 35.4% vs 11.6% respectively of the total Canadian truck fleet.
...In 2004 Canadian for-hire carriers earned revenues of $19.3 billion, down from $21.2 billion the year before. But their expenses were down at a slightly higher rate, leaving an improved operating ratio of 0.93 compared to 0.94 in 2003.
JUST THE FACTS!