(Statistics Canada)
Car drivers can be
forgiven if they have the impression that there are more trucks on Canada's road, but it just isn't the case, 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 per cent, while there were 5.5 per cent 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 likelihood of encountering a truck varies 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.
The study suggests that with the population on the rise
and the economy growing, the competition is likely to get even more intense.
At border crossing points, for example, the congestion in truck traffic has already reached substantial proportions
(although dedicated lines for commercial traffic may improve the situation at the actual crossing).
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 with funding from Transport Canada.
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. By road dominated as a means of transportation for trade between Canada and the United States in 2003. In terms of revenue, over
53 per cent of Canadian exports and 79 per cent of imports were moved by truck.
Carriers hauled 8.7 million shipments across the Canada-US border in 2003, with freight totaling more than 85 million
tonnes.
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