AMTA  E-News

April  2010

Quarterly Trucking Survey - Third Quarter

Trucking companies earned operating revenue of $9.0 billion in the third quarter. With operating expenses of $8.0 billion, these businesses realized operating profits of just over $1.0 billion. This corresponds to an operating ratio (operating expenses divided by operating revenue) of 0.888, where a ratio greater than 1.000 represents an operating loss.

The trucking industry is dominated by Ontario with 37% of all trucking companies, accounting for 33% of total revenue, located in that province. Quebec was the second-ranked province with 20% of revenue, followed by Alberta (18%) and British Columbia (11%). New Brunswick, Manitoba and Saskatchewan each accounted for about 5% of total revenue.

Note: The Quarterly Trucking Survey replaces the Quarterly Motor Carriers of Freight Survey, which was discontinued following the release of data for the fourth quarter of 2008. The data from the two surveys are not strictly comparable due to the expanded coverage of the Quarterly Trucking Survey, which covers all businesses with annual revenue from trucking establishments of $30,000 or more. The Quarterly Motor Carriers of Freight survey covered only for-hire carriers with annual revenue of $1 million or more.

Users who would still like to compare these two surveys should contact Denis Pilon (613-951-2707; denis.pilon@statcan.gc.ca or Ed Hamilton (613-951-6153; ed.hamilton@statcan.gc.ca) for additional information.