The number of cross-border truck trips between Ontario and the United States fell for the third straight year in 2007 to its lowest point since 1998, the Ontario Trucking Association said today, Jan. 14. OTA said the higher dollar, fuel costs and border delays are the main reasons for the decrease.
Citing figures from the Bridge and Tunnel Operator’s Association, OTA said there were just over eight million truck trips across the border in 2007 – a decrease of almost 220,000, or 2.6 percent, from 2006. OTA president David Bradley called the numbers a wake-up call to governments to take action to help Ontario’s economy cope with the challenges confronting it.
Bradley said the Bank of Canada should aggressively reduce interest rates in order to spur economic growth and moderate the value of the dollar. He also said despite millions of dollars spent by the trucking industry on new security measures, wait times at the border have not come down.
