U.S.-Ontario Truck Traffic Down

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he number of trucks crossing the U.S.-Ontario border between January and September 2006 fell by more than 82,000 from the same period in 2005, the Ontario Trucking Association said.

David Bradley, president of the Ontario Trucking Association, on Monday criticized the urgent attention paid to border security at the expense of infrastructure improvements.

“More and more red tape and cost is being thrust onto cross-border trade supposedly in the name of security; little urgency is being given to much-needed short-term infrastructure and resource enhancements; there seems to be no long-term investment plan to ensure we’ll have the infrastructure in place to support future trade when we need it,” Bradley said.

The reduction in truck traffic also indicates that the Canadian province is feeling the effects of a slowing U.S. economy and competition from lost-cost Asian manufacturing, OTA said in a statement.