14 wednesdaY march 23, 2016
A SUPPLEMENT TO THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
driving suCCess Trucking industry keeps Manitoba moving by pat rediger
the road to economic prosperity begins with strategic investments in trade-related infrastructure. K ey improvements for the trucking industry include the province’s planned CentrePort Canada Way extension project. CentrePort is North America’s largest inland port that includes an international trucking hub. The project would extend the four-lane expressway another 14 kilometres west of the Perimeter to bypass Headingley and connect to the Trans-Canada Highway near St. Francois Xavier. “Winnipeg’s trucking industry is clustered in and around the CentrePort footprint in the northwest corner of the city,” says Terry Shaw, executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association. “This bypass will give truckers more options, because if for some reason there is an incident that limits access to one of those roads, industry does not have to shut down.” Manitoba is home to some of the top trucking companies in Canada, including TransX Ltd., Bison Transport Inc.,
International and Arnold Bros. Transport Ltd. Bison Transport CEO and executive chairman Don Streuber says business is quite literally always on the move. “When freight moves, it doesn’t typically create a path as much as choose a path. If you think of water moving through the yard or down the street, it goes down the quickest path of least resistance. It’s the same thing for us when talking about infrastructure,” says Streuber, who is also chairman of CentrePort Canada. “We’re looking for reliable, predictable roadways that are opened, functioning well and help maintain the flow of traffic. Infrastructure requires continual investment. The absence of those repairs over time has created a significant deficit in our province in terms of rebuilding established infrastructure and building secondary roads.” Shaw notes that the trucking industry contributes about $2 billion toward the provincial GDP. “On top of that already significant contribution, there are other major industry contributors to the provincial economy — such as construction, agriculture, manufacturing and retail trade — that lean on trucking as a critical service provider. Without trucking, these industries wouldn’t be able to access needed raw materials or get their products to market,” he says. “Manitoba is a gateway province. Not only would these infrastructure investments help our province, but they would also help our nation. Often these items are looked at from the perspective of being an origin or destination,
which Manitoba is certainly, but we also need to realize that we are in the centre of Canada and we’re also a major North American intersection too. Not only should we protect and develop these pathways on behalf of our province, but we also have a responsibility as caretakers of a vital connection on our national highway system.” The industry welcomes plans to build a St. Norbert Bypass and improve Highway 75, the main route from Winnipeg to the U.S. border. The border crossing at Emerson sees some $19 billion annually in truck trade, more than any crossing in Western Canada. The Manitoba Trucking Association estimates closures during spring flooding on the Red River cost the industry $1.5 million per week. “Highway 75 to me is a critical connecting point,” says Streuber. “If you look at a map and draw a natural arc from Calgary or Edmonton down into the States, the arc actually crosses through Winnipeg down Highway 75. So Highway 75 doesn’t just feed Manitoba. It is, in fact, a trade route for Saskatchewan and Alberta. When accessibility to this highway is not an issue, we are able to transfer the least cost to the consumer in the sense that the shortest route equals the least amount of disruption. This creates the most expeditious line of trade.” As Streuber explains, trade routes in and of themselves create jobs, which helps fuel a vibrant economy. “There’s an expression that goes, ‘Other than a baby, everything else is delivered by trucks,’ ” he says. “Fundamentally, there will always be a requirement of trucks and for that the infrastructure is critical.” ❚
YRC Reimer, Paul’s Hauling Ltd., Penner
OnlyCASE planned for Planned Maintenance.
truck transportation by the numbers five of canada’s top 50 carriers are based in Manitoba 95% of goods moved within Manitoba depend on trucks some 425 for-hire trucking companies are based in Manitoba approximately 300,000 commercial trucks cross the Manitoba-U.S. border each year 80% of manitoba’s merchandise trade with the United States is shipped by truck
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— Source: The Manitoba Trucking Association
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