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2008 Canadian Vehicle Survey Update Report

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Chapter 4. Medium and heavy trucks

This chapter examines medium and heavy trucks, which are defined according to weight:

  • medium trucks – gross vehicle weight between 4.5 and 15 tonnes (t)

  • heavy trucks – gross vehicle weight of 15 t or more

4.1 Medium and heavy truck configuration

Medium and heavy trucks can be configured in different ways. A straight truck is a complete unit (i.e. a power unit and a box or flat bed that cannot be detached). A tractor/trailer, on the other hand, is composed of a cab accompanied by one or more detachable trailers. Tractor/trailer combinations are typically used for long-distance hauling.

In the medium truck category, the majority of vehiclekilometres (VKM) (about 70 percent) were travelled by straight trucks in 2008. This share of distance decreased from around 80 percent in 2000, indicating increased use of medium trucks with configurations other than straight trucks. Unfortunately, Canadian Vehicle Survey data do not allow us to make any observations about these other configuration types.

Data quality is better for heavy trucks. Figure 16 shows the shares of VKM by configuration type in 2008. The majority of VKM (71 percent) were travelled by tractors with one trailer. Fourteen percent of the distance was travelled by straight trucks, and another 12 percent was travelled by other configurations (which include configurations such as tractors with more than one trailer and straight trucks with trailers). The shares of distance travelled for each configuration of heavy truck have not changed significantly since 2000.

Figure 16 Distance travelled by heavy trucks by configuration, 2008.

4.2 Medium and heavy truck trip purpose

Figure 17 shows the distance travelled by medium and heavy trucks for different purposes. Medium trucks were generally used for a greater variety of purposes than heavy trucks.

Figure 17 Distance travelled by medium and heavy trucks by trip purpose, 2008.

For medium trucks, carrying goods or equipment accounted for a little less than half of VKM in 2008, down from 50 percent in 2000. Travel for non-work purposes remained relatively constant during the period, accounting for 26 percent of VKM in 2008, while driving to or from service calls accounted for 19 percent of distance travelled, up from 12 percent in 2000.

The main purpose for travel by heavy trucks in 2008 was to carry goods or equipment (80 percent), up from 75 percent in 2000. Another 14 percent of distance was travelled by empty vehicles, the same as in 2000. Trucks may travel empty for a variety of reasons, including the inability to find cargo on the way to or from a haul.

4.3 Medium and heavy truck activity

Most truck traffic on Canadian roads is related to one of the following activities:

  • for-hire trucking – a company transports goods as its principal activity;

  • private trucking – a company transports goods as a secondary activity that is part of the distribution process of its primary output; and

  • owner-operators – individuals transport goods either independently or for one of the above-mentioned companies.

Figure 18 shows the distance travelled by medium and heavy trucks according to activity type in 2008. Approximately half of VKM travelled by medium trucks were by private operators, with the other half split about evenly among for-hire truckers, owner-operators and the “other” category. The majority of distance travelled by heavy trucks was by for-hire truckers (58 percent), followed by owner-operators (24 percent) and private truckers (12 percent). The ratios for both medium and heavy trucks have not changed significantly since 2000.

Figure 18 Distance travelled by medium and heavy trucks by activity type, 2008.

4.4 Age of medium and heavy trucks

Figure 19 shows the age distribution of medium and heavy trucks in 2005 and 2008. In 2008, the average medium and heavy truck was between eight and nine years old, with medium trucks being slightly older than heavy trucks. One quarter of medium and heavy trucks was less than three years old in 2008, and another quarter was more than 13 years old. Overall, the medium and heavy truck fleet contain a greater proportion of both newer and older vehicles than the light vehicle fleet.

Figure 19 Distribution of medium and heavy trucks by vehicle age, 2005 and 2008.

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