“It’s nice to see the truckers get together,” said Mike Ouellet. “With an event like this you get to meet people. It’s like a family, like a brotherhood.”
The 2nd annual Bordertown Working Truck Show and Shine was, like last year, held on Saturday and Sunday at the Canadian Tire parking lot.
High fuel prices didn’t keep the truckers away. Thirty-five working trucks took part in the show and shine, more than last year.
“We have some new entries that weren’t here last year,” said Bill Dowe, who, along with Ouellet, is the event organizer. “We have some people who came from a long distance to be here, so that speaks volumes to me.”
One truck came from Jonesport, Maine, while other came from throughout Maritimes.
There was an artisan gallery, a food truck, vendors, and live music.
Fuel Prices
One topic of conversation among truckers is the high fuel prices.
“With the fuel prices starting to climb, the uncertainty always keeps you on the edge because you never know one day to the next what fuel prices are going to be, so that’s certainly a concern,” said Dowe.
Dowe doesn’t see fuel prices lowering as fast as they went up.
“The fuel prices have been volatile in the last few weeks, and when they jack them up like that they come down very slowly.”
And he definitely doesn’t see the government intervening on the price of fuel.
“They collect too much tax revenue from it, so they’re not going to step in and do anything for the consumer,” said Dowe.
The Economy
The economy isn’t exactly booming either.
“I think everybody is feeling a slowdown in the economy right now, whether it be construction, trucking, and all trades.”
Tax Changes
On top of all this are the proposed changes to the tax code by the federal government.
“Any small business person should be concerned about these proposed changes, absolutely, no matter what industry,” said Dowe. “Everybody who is a small business person has concerns around these issues.”
The show and shine is in partnership with the Maritime Ride & Pride, and all net proceeds from the show go to the Special Olympics of Amherst.