The University of Manitoba Transport Institute and TransCore Link Logistics announced the initial results from their joint research project looking at Canadian trucking and logistics trends using TransCore's Loadlink freight matching data.


Over 13 million full loads, LTL (less than truck load) shipments and trucks are posted to the Loadlink network annually.

"Using this unique data set provides us a particularly compelling view into the Canadian logistics market," said Paul Larson, director of the Transport Institute at the University of Manitoba. "Observations that in the past might have been more intuitive in nature are now backed with qualitative and quantitative assessment, both confirming and expanding our understanding of the dynamics at play in the Canadian market."

Highlights from initial findings include:

* Postings originating in the United States bound for Canada amount to more than 61 percent of total freight volume and 39 percent of equipment volume.

* Outbound postings from Canada to the United States account for 13 percent of load volumes and 31 percent of equipment volumes.

* Year-over-year load postings have recovered dramatically from the lower than average values of the summer of 2009. Year-to-year postings have increased from 30 percent to 52 percent.

* Year-over-year equipment postings have decreased between 12 and 18 percent.

* Year-over-year recovery in the loads from July-Sept/09 to July-Sept/10 was greater in the transborder market. The reduction in capacity may be hitting the Canadian domestic market harder than the transborder market. One possible explanation is: since the transborder load market recovery has been proportionally greater than that of the Canadian domestic market, trucks have been diverted to the transborder market at the expense of the Canadian market.

* Year-over-year load postings in the domestic Canadian market increased between 30 and 48 percent, whereas domestic equipment postings decreased between 10 and 36 percent.

* Year-over-year load postings in the transborder market increased between 29 and 55 percent, whereas equipment postings only decreased by 12 to 20 percent.