* Alberta's boom goes bust
-- This was supposed to be the busy season at Marvan Transport. Brian Smith has managed the fleet long enough to know that. He and his coworkers enjoyed six-figure salaries for years, hauling loads of hydraulic acid for fracking projects that tapped into previously unreachable pockets of gas and oil... Not this year. All five trucks were parked against the fence even before Fort McMurray began to burn. The fleet slashed rates 35% and is still not securing bids. The competitors running for cheaper are only doing so because drivers are being paid a percentage of revenue rather than hourly wages... The Mullen Group – the largest provider of specialized transportation for Western Canada’s oil and gas industry – has laid off more than 1,400 people... All told, cheap oil has sacrificed 100,000 jobs, $60 billion in earnings and $33 billion in capital investments, with most of those losses in Alberta, says CEO Murray K. Mullen... But the job losses hit him the hardest. Those are the “biggest human tragedy,” he said during a presentation at the recent Truck World trade show. They are the people sometimes forgotten by those who think just a few rich “oil guys” are paying the price....
- Some of those who decided to shed -equipment holdings have turned to Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, which operates under a firm rule: Everything sells. And there is plenty on hand for the highest bidder. About 10,600 pieces of equipment moved through the company’s sprawling Edmonton complex in late April, easily setting a sales record and eclipsing the previous April’s numbers by about 35%... Trucks dominated most of the sales on the opening day, when close to 10,000 bidders had already registered for a piece of the action. Equipment such as cranes, rock catchers, and trailers followed... But Wall stresses that most of the sales have nothing to do with outright bankruptcies. Many of the sellers are just divesting assets to support other activities. The fleets are still there. Just smaller. “Some people use these market changes as reasons to trigger a personal decision: ‘I’ve had enough. I’m tired. I’ve made a lot of money in my last 10 years. It’s a good time to retire,’” he adds...
* The speed of the transactions during trucks'auction
- Auctioneers’ record-setting auction is shocking when you consider the money changing hands. A truck rolls up the ramp as the auctioneer describes what’s on display. The bidders, resting in their orange stadium-style seats, review notes in the massive coil-bound books filled with information on every item. Others watch the action online, knowing their bids are just a click away... It typically takes less than two minutes for the bids to finish, depending on the prices. A 2013 tri-drive International Paystar sells for $60,000. Its counterpart, with about 6,000 extra kilometers on the odometer, goes for $57,000... Ultimately, the market prices usually prevail... You bring them in with the allure of a potential bargain.” Bargain-basement prices are admittedly few and far between, but they do happen, says Randy Wall, president of Ritchie Bros’ Canadian business. “That’s what keeps people coming back.” ...
Edmonton, Alberta, CAN - Today's Trucking, by John G. Smith - 31 May 2016 Labels: trucking industry news Canada
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