Oakville, ON\u00a0\u2013 Volvo Trucks North America sees long haulers accounting for a shrinking portion of the truck market, as the industry responds to pressures including a driver shortage and recent upgrades to the Panama Canal.\u00a0Magnus Koeck, vice president \u2013 marketing and brand management, says that share has dropped to about 43% of the marketplace compared to 50% last year.\u00a0In contrast, regional haulers account for about 35% \u00a0of the market as more freight is regionalized, he said during a briefing for industry media, adding the impact will be \u201cproportionally a little larger\u201d in the U.S. than Canada.\u00a0The recently opened $5.4-billion upgrade to the canal will also allow the passage of neo-Panamax ships, which can carry 14,000 containers at a time. Many U.S. ports along the east coast of the U.S. are already expanding to accommodate them.<\/p>\n