The changes, which are scheduled to become effective on July 1, will establish requirements for trucks that are consistent with regulations in the United States and will allow trucks and trailers equipped with Michelin X One tires to operate from coast to coast and move freely between both countries, according to Marc Laferriere, vice president of marketing for Michelin Americas Truck Tires.
The new rules apply to tires utilized on drive axles with a width of 445 mm or more. The new weight allowances call for loads not to exceed 7,700 kg for single axle vehicles and 15,400 kg for tandem-axle groups. To allow trailers to be safely retrofitted with wide single tires, the minimum track width requirement of 2.5 m has been reduced to 2.3 m for trailers built in 2007 or earlier.
“In the wake of soaring fuel costs, this news is welcome relief to truckers and fleets operating between the two countries,” says Laferriere. “Michelin X One tires can improve fuel efficiency by up to 10 percent and allow for significantly larger payloads. This revised MOU offers a boost to fleet profitability and helps control rising transportation costs for the goods each of us buy each day.”
The official update, issued by the Canadian government, acknowledges “that the new wide base single tire designs offer improvements in fuel efficiency, vehicle roll stability and reduced tare weight.”
The rules will be in effect for all Canadian provinces, with three regional exceptions. These pertain to roads in the Northwest Territories, secondary roads in Newfoundland and Labrador, and roads in New Brunswick, depending on their highway classification.
To meet a growing demand across North America, Michelin’s plant in Waterville, Nova Scotia, began manufacturing X Ones in 2007, joining the company’s Spartanburg, S.C., facility as a production source.
For more information, visit www.gowidesavegreen.com, www.michelin.ca or www.michelin-us.com.
