7 ROAD TRANSPORTATION
FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION
HEAVY TRUCK FLEET BY PROVINCE/TERRITORY
Information on the heavy truck fleet and its use characteristics can be found in the Canadian Vehicle Survey (see Table 7-10). In 2004, over 600,000 trucks were registered with a gross vehicle weight of at least 4,500 kilograms. This fleet was split between 325,000 medium trucks weighing between 4,500 kilograms and 15,000 kilograms and 277,000 heavy or Class 8 trucks weighing over 15,000 kilograms. Three quarters of the Class 8 heavy truck fleet was concentrated in three provinces: Ontario with 37 per cent, Alberta with nearly 25 per cent and Quebec with 13 per cent. The medium truck fleet was concentrated in five provinces sharing about 90 per cent of the total. Over 20 billion vehicle-kilometres were performed in heavy trucks in 2004, versus about seven billion for medium trucks. The distribution of heavy truck vehicle-kilometres was even more concentrated in Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec with the three provinces accounting for over 80 per cent of the kilometres driven.
Given similar numbers of trucks and a huge difference in vehicle-kilometres, it was no surprise that average distance driven per truck was much greater for heavy trucks compared with medium trucks. On average, heavy trucks were driven nearly 75,000 kilometres per year, three and a half times greater than the 21,000 kilometres driven by medium trucks. The variation in heavy truck average distance driven by province was also substantial, ranging from a low of 26,000 per vehicle in Prince Edward Island to 106,000 per vehicle in Quebec. Medium truck use across jurisdiction also had a wide range of variation from a low of only 9,000 in Prince Edward Island (6,000 in Nunavut) to over 28,000 in Quebec.
TABLE 7-10: HEAVY TRUCK FLEET STATISTICS BY PROVINCE/TERRITORY, 2004
| |
Vehicles (thousands) |
Vehicle-km (millions) |
Percentage distribution |
| |
Vehicles |
Vehicle-km |
| |
Medium |
Heavy |
Medium |
Heavy |
Medium |
Heavy |
Medium |
Heavy |
| Newfoundland and Labrador |
3.7 |
2.7 |
47 |
118 |
1.1 |
1.0 |
0.7 |
0.6 |
| Prince Edward Island |
1.5 |
2.6 |
13 |
68 |
0.5 |
0.9 |
0.2 |
0.3 |
| Nova Scotia |
7.3 |
6.9 |
143 |
363 |
2.2 |
2.5 |
2.1 |
1.7 |
| New Brunswick |
5.6 |
3.9 |
102 |
123 |
1.7 |
1.4 |
1.5 |
0.6 |
| Quebec |
48.9 |
37.3 |
1,382 |
3,938 |
15.1 |
13.4 |
19.9 |
19.0 |
| Ontario |
73.0 |
102.9 |
1,675 |
7,986 |
22.5 |
37.1 |
24.1 |
38.5 |
| Manitoba |
9.4 |
14.2 |
136 |
1,462 |
2.9 |
5.1 |
2.0 |
7.1 |
| Saskatchewan |
34.4 |
23.4 |
372 |
1,132 |
10.6 |
8.4 |
5.3 |
5.5 |
| Alberta |
78.3 |
68.3 |
1,776 |
4,855 |
24.1 |
24.6 |
25.5 |
23.4 |
| British Columbia |
60.5 |
12.9 |
1,282 |
516 |
18.7 |
4.6 |
18.4 |
2.5 |
| Yukon Territory |
1.2 |
1.2 |
22 |
108 |
0.4 |
0.4 |
0.3 |
0.5 |
| Northwest Territories |
0.6 |
1.0 |
8 |
61 |
0.2 |
0.4 |
0.1 |
0.3 |
| Nunavut |
0.2 |
0.1 |
3 |
1 |
0.07 |
0.04 |
0.04 |
0.00 |
| Canada |
324.5 |
277.3 |
6,960 |
20,730 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Note: Medium trucks have a gross weight between 4.5 tonnes and 15 tonnes; heavy trucks have a gross weight of 15 tonnes or more.
Source: Canadian Vehicle Survey, 2004 Annual Averages
HEAVY TRUCK VEHICLE CONFIGURATIONS
Table 7-11 provides another view on the medium/heavy truck fleet based on truck configuration. The majority of trucks were classified as straight trucks (i.e., the power unit and the cargo area are combined in a single chassis) with 362,000 registered in the 10 provinces. About 175,000 trucks were classified as tractor-trailers (i.e., the power unit pulls the cargo area in a separate trailer), with the balance, about 60,000 vehicles, classified as other vehicles. While tractor-trailer combinations accounted for about 30 per cent of the fleet, they accounted for over 60 per cent of the truck vehicle-kilometres, or 17.1 billion. Once again, this pattern was the result of the massive difference in average distance driven per vehicle. Straight trucks were driven a little over 25,000 kilometres annually, while tractor-trailers were driven nearly 100,000 kilometres per year. Heavy truck fuel efficiency averaged about 32 L/100 km, with straight trucks averaging 29 L/100 km and tractor-trailers averaging 34 L/100 km (see Table 7-11).
TABLE 7-11: TRUCK STATISTICS, BY CONFIGURATION, 2004
| |
Vehicles |
Vehicle-km |
Fuel (litres) |
Average distance driven (thousands of kilometres) |
Fuel
efficiency (Litres/100km) |
| |
thousands |
share |
billions |
share |
billions |
share |
| Straight truck |
362 |
60.7 |
9.1 |
33.3 |
2.6 |
29.9 |
25.2 |
28.7 |
| Tractor-trailer |
175 |
29.2 |
17.1 |
62.3 |
5.9 |
66.7 |
97.9 |
34.3 |
| Other |
60 |
10.1 |
1.2 |
4.5 |
0.3 |
3.4 |
20.4 |
24.1 |
| Total |
598 |
100.0 |
24.7 |
100.0 |
8.8 |
100.0 |
46.0 |
32.0 |
Notes: Figures refer to all trucks with a gross weight of at least 4.5 tonnes. Figures exclude the territories and buses.
Source: Canadian Vehicle Survey 2004
Table 7-12 provides more detail on heavy truck vehicle configurations. Medium trucks were characterized by the straight truck configuration with 87 per cent of the kilometres driven using this format. Heavy trucks, by contrast, were dominated by various tractor-trailer combinations with the most popular being a tractor and one trailer (the conventional 18 wheeler), which accounted for two thirds of the heavy truck vehiclekilometres. Straight trucks performed only 16 per cent of the heavy truck vehicle-kilometres.
TABLE 7-12: TRUCK VEHICLE-KM BY DETAILED CONFIGURATION, 2004
|
Medium
(per cent) |
Heavy
(per cent) |
| Straight truck |
87.0 |
16.1 |
| Tractor only |
0.4 |
3.6 |
| Tractor and 1 trailer |
1.6 |
67.3 |
| Tractor and 2 trailers |
- |
11.2 |
| Tractor and 3 trailers |
- |
0.1 |
| Other |
11.0 |
1.7 |
| Total vehicle-km (billions) |
6.9 |
20.6 |
Notes: Figures refer to all trucks with a gross weight of at least 4.5 tonnes. Figures exclude the territories and buses.
Source: Canadian Vehicle Survey 2004
Table 7-13 provides information on the typical uses of medium and heavy trucks. Medium trucks had many uses with 61 per cent of the vehicle-kilometres used for carrying goods or equipment, a traditional freight-hauling role, and 34 per cent devoted to non-freight carrying functions such as making service calls. These latter functions illustrate that medium-sized trucks were not confined solely to the for-hire or private "trucking" business. Of the 6.9 billion vehicle-kilometres driven in the 10 provinces, six per cent were done with empty trucks.
TABLE 7-13: USE OF HEAVY VEHICLES, 2004
| |
Medium trucks |
Heavy trucks |
| |
Vehicle-km |
Share
(per cent) |
Vehicle-km |
Share
(per cent) |
| Carrying goods/equipment |
4,193 |
61 |
15,489 |
75 |
| Empty |
384 |
6 |
2,800 |
14 |
| Other work purpose |
2,350 |
34 |
2,271 |
11 |
| Total |
6,927 |
100 |
20,560 |
100 |
Notes: Figures are in billions and refer to all trucks with a gross weight of at least 4.5 tonnes. Figures exclude the territories and buses.
Source: Canadian Vehicle Survey 2004
Heavy trucks were used predominantly for the conventional goods-hauling role with 75 per cent of the vehicle-kilometres used for carrying goods or equipment. Only 11 per cent were for other work purposes, and about 14 per cent of vehicle-kilometres were made with empty trucks.
FOR-HIRE/PRIVATE OPERATION
Table 7-14 presents a breakdown of heavy truck activity by for-hire/private operation. For-hire trucking operators provide trucking services to other companies for profit while private operators typically haul their own goods (e.g., bakeries, beer companies). Owner-operators own their own truck and hire out trucking services to other individuals or companies for profit. They are similar to for-hire firms except on a much smaller-scale.
Private trucking is concentrated in short-distance movements using largely medium-sized trucks. Private firms operate over half of the medium trucks registered, 13 per cent are operated by for-hire firms and 18 per cent by owner-operators. Moreover, about 75 per cent of the fleet operated by private firms was medium-sized trucks. By contrast, private operators account for only 22 per cent of the heavy truck fleet, with for-hire operators accounting for 45 per cent and owner-operators accounting for about 25 per cent. Heavy trucks, accounting for three quarters of the total, dominate for-hire fleets. Overall, private truckers operated 39 per cent of the truck fleet, 28 per cent was operated by for-hire truckers, 21 per cent by owner-operators, and 12 per cent by other/unknown.
Vehicle use was dramatically different between the for-hire and private trucking sectors. About half the vehicle-kilometres were performed by for-hire operators, nearly one quarter by owner-operators and only one fifth by private operators. The average distance driven was tilted heavily in favour of for-hire operators: they drove over 80,000 kilometres per year versus private truckers who drove only 24,000 kilometres and owner-operators who travelled 53,000 kilometres. Heavy-class trucks run by for-hire companies logged nearly 100,000 kilometres in 2004, compared with only 40,000 for private trucking companies.
TABLE 7-14: HEAVY VEHICLE USE BY TYPE OF OPERATION, 2004
| |
Number of vehicles (thousands) |
Vehicle-km (billions) |
Average distance travelled (thousands of km) |
| |
Medium |
Heavy |
Total |
Medium |
Heavy |
Total |
Medium |
Heavy |
Total |
| For-hire |
41 |
125 |
166 |
1.2 |
12.2 |
13.4 |
30.2 |
97.4 |
80.9 |
| Owner-operator |
59 |
67 |
125 |
1.6 |
5.1 |
6.6 |
27.0 |
75.7 |
52.9 |
| Private |
174 |
60 |
234 |
3.2 |
2.4 |
5.5 |
18.2 |
39.6 |
23.7 |
| Other |
49 |
24 |
72 |
0.9 |
1.0 |
1.9 |
19.1 |
41.4 |
26.4 |
| Total |
323 |
275 |
598 |
6.9 |
20.6 |
27.5 |
21.5 |
74.8 |
46.0 |
| Per cent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| For-hire |
12.7 |
45.4 |
27.7 |
17.8 |
59.2 |
48.8 |
140.6 |
130.3 |
175.8 |
| Owner-operator |
18.2 |
24.3 |
21.0 |
22.8 |
24.6 |
24.1 |
125.8 |
101.2 |
115.1 |
| Private |
54.1 |
21.8 |
39.2 |
45.9 |
11.5 |
20.2 |
84.9 |
52.9 |
51.5 |
| Other |
15.1 |
8.6 |
12.1 |
13.5 |
4.7 |
6.9 |
89.1 |
55.4 |
57.4 |
| Total |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Notes: Figures refer to all trucks with a gross weight of at least 4.5 tonnes. Figures exclude the territories and buses.
Source: Canadian Vehicle Survey 2004
Major Events
Infrastructure
Industry Structure
Passenger Transportation
Freight Transportation
Trucking Freight Transportation
Price, Productivity, Financial Performance
