Michelin Canada Welcomes Saskatchewan Laws Allowing Wide-Base Single Tires for Heavy Trucks

    New provincial regulations encourage sustainable transport, reduce GHG emissions

LAVAL, QC, July 4, 2017 /CNW/ - Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. recognizes the leaders of the Government of Saskatchewan, Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, and the Saskatchewan Trucking Association, who worked collaboratively for the province to become Canada's fourth to enact regulations that permit the trucking industry to increase hauling and payload capacity, while reducing its carbon footprint. The total payload increase from 7,700 kg per axle to 8,500 kg allows the industry to adopt fuel-efficient wide-base single heavy-truck tires and to operate at competitive weight limits, while decreasing fuel consumption and green-house gas emissions for the environment.

Freight transportation is one of the biggest greenhouse gas challenges — and opportunities — responsible for 7% of Canada's overall emissions. New generation technology uses a single, wide tire (445 mm and 455 mm) to replace conventional dual tires on trucks.  Substituting this technology for conventional dual tires yields an estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) impact equivalent to removing 1.8 cars off the road for every heavy truck. New Generation Wide Base Single Tires (NGWBST) tires also consume less petroleum in their production and less fuel on the road. Heavy trucks expend an estimated one in every three tanks of fuel to overcome the rolling resistance of the tires alone, which is improved with wide-base single tires. 

"Michelin just recently hosted MOVIN'ON, the Global Summit on Sustainable Mobility, for the first time here in Canada. So we are particularly encouraged to see that Saskatchewan is implementing an environmentally friendly approach to commercial mobility, which also helps the trucking sector improve its competitiveness," said Jeff MacLean, president, Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. "Accelerating the adoption of New Generation Wide Base Single Tires is one important way that government and industry can use innovative technologies to help drive Canada's clean-growth agenda."

Wide base single tires have been available in North America since 2000. Load parity was implemented in 2009 in Quebec and in 2008 in Ontario. In 2015, Manitoba revised regulations pertaining to trucks travelling provincial highways that meet national load ratings.

About Michelin

Michelin, the leading tire company, is dedicated to enhancing its clients' mobility, sustainably; designing and distributing the most suitable tires, services and solutions for its clients' needs; providing digital services, maps and guides to help enrich trips and travels and make them unique experiences; and developing high-technology materials that serve the mobility industry. Headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Michelin is present in 170 countries, has 111,700 employees and operates 68 production facilities in 17 countries which together produced 187 million tires in 2016 (www.michelin.com). In Canada, Michelin employs over 3300 and has three tire manufacturing facilities located in Nova Scotia. To learn more about truck tires, visit www.michelintruck.com.

SOURCE Michelin Canada

Irene Aguzzi, Michelin North America (Canada) Inc., C. 514-475-7684; Email : [email protected]