Mr. Chairman and committee members, thank you for the opportunity to present here the challenges we are facing with PED in Manitoba, and the fear that lies in the rest of western Canada because we're so integrated.
My name is Bill Rempel, and I'm with Steve's Livestock Transport. We are a for-hire livestock transporter. We operate 130 trucks that are on the road on any given day. We have about 400 employees. Eighty per cent of our cargo is hogs. About 70% of that originates out of the Manitoba area, a lot of it in the southeast area. We have terminals in southeastern Manitoba in Blumenort, right where the hot zone is; in western Manitoba in Brandon; and in central Alberta in Red Deer. The majority of our transport is in western Canada, but we go into the United States as well.
The current challenge we are facing as a transporter is severe, and it seems to be growing by the day. There are definitely some concerns in our organization as far as the different effects it's having. One of them that hasn't been talked about a lot is the emotional toll it takes on people. Even though we're not directly involved in hog production, we are very impacted by this challenge. With every farm that breaks, there are new zones declared, which means there are logistical challenges and changes for us and for where our trucks move. There is heightened biosecurity and scrutiny on our people who are doing the work every day.
The toll and the challenge have been particularly on our logistics staff, our drivers, and our wash employees. A lot of effort is going into route planning. We have had several cases where our trucks are literally sitting at a farm waiting for directions from the different parties, from the CVO, with regard to what route they'll take to leave from there.
There is a lot of work and there are a lot of slowdowns happening. A lot of people are working seven days a week to try to make sure we stay on top of this. People are getting tired. When there needs to be this level of heightened awareness and biosecurity that people need to stay on top of, it concerns us.
The other challenge we run into is an equipment shortage. We've made the decision to isolate where trailers go and to use specific trailers for high-risk sites. They don't go out of that area; they can only be used there. That effects our efficiencies and utilization of equipment. We can't use those trailers in other areas, so that's created an equipment shortage with regard to trailers.
Since the outbreak, cleaning, disinfecting, and mechanical drying of trailers has significantly expanded. As I referred to before, there are different levels of cleaning. It's been ramped up significantly, and the frequency has gone up to the point where, today, our wash facility in Blumenort, Manitoba, is at capacity. We're operating four shifts. We run seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and we're running at capacity.
As a reference, generally, on average, it takes about three hours for two people to go through the C and D process for a trailer. It's a lengthy timeframe. All the extra work that goes into this, along with the reduced utilization, has created some limitations, and it is having a financial impact on our organization as well.
What we have done as an organization so far is segregate the trailers from high-risk sites. We limit where our trucks go. We are in western Canada, so we have a terminal in Alberta. Trucks there would haul animals back and forth. We've limited where they're allowed to go. Obviously, we've reviewed and updated our biosecurity protocols. We continually adjust and limit routes, and we are looking at how we can expand our washing facility.
Since 2013 when the PED virus was first detected in North America, we—and the industry as a whole—have invested heavily to protect ourselves from the PED virus. We have spent millions to expand washing. We designed thermal-assisted drying, which is high heat drying. We bring the temperature of the trailers to 165°F to 170°F. Research has shown that if we keep it there for a minimum of 12 minutes, it will kill the virus.
There is a lot that has gone into that. We haven't sat idly by and hoped for the best. We've been very active, and the industry has been very active in trying to control the spread of the virus.
I appreciate your taking the time to hear us. The ask on our part, and certainly what could help us, would be to implement the trusted trucker program. That would do three things for us.
First, it would reduce the risk. Today, we are washing in the U.S., so when those trailers hit the border they're clean, but the industry is washing them again, so we are going through the complete process again on the Canadian side. That tells you that the wash in the U.S. isn't trusted. The industry doesn't trust it, so we are doing it twice. We strongly feel that it would reduce the risk.
Second, it would free up equipment—instead of going out of route, washing the trailers in the U.S., bringing them back, and washing them again.
It would certainly reduce the risk, improve our utilization of the equipment, and reduce costs.
Thank you for your time.