The Globe and Mail - 06.11.2019

CANADIANAUTOMOBILE

DEALERSASSOCIATION

MIKESTOLLERY

The Canadian Automobile Dealers

Association (CADA) is pleased

to announce Mike Stollery as

Chairman 2019-2020. Mike is the

founder and chair of AutoIQ. He

became a dealer in 1988 and went

on to acquire additional locations

in Ontario, and eastern Canada.

He is very proud to be partnered

with outstanding equity operators

which represent 16 different

brands that include domestic,

imports, luxury vehicles and

heavy trucks.

Mike has served on a number

of industry related committees

and boards that have included

Ford National Dealer Council

(NRT), Ford’s global President’s

Circle and Ford Global Dealer and

Consumer Experience Strategy

Board. He is a past chair of

Consolidated Dealers (formerly

Co-Auto). His passion for the

industry makes him a natural fit

for a number of committees at

Georgian College that include

Chairperson of the Power of

Education capital campaign,

which to date has raised over

$52MM. Mike is also active with

the Automotive Business School

of Canada, as a member of the

Board of Directors.

In April 2016 he was globally

recognized as a ‘Ford Salute

to Dealer Honouree’ (one of

6 globally), an award that

recognizes Dealer Principals for

their outstanding contributions to

their communities.

http://www.cada.ca

WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER6,2019 | THEGLOBEANDMAILO REPORTONBUSINESS| B3

Shares in exercise bike fitness

startupPeloton Interactive Inc.

sank 7.6 per cent on Tuesday as

the newly listed company fore-

cast a loss for fiscal 2020 and said

it was choosing to focus on

growth over profit for now.

Known for its on-demand

workout programs on exercise

bikes that allow riders to join vir-

tually with other participants,

the company in September was

the latest in a run of startups to

receive a subdued reception

from stock market investors this

year.

Peloton, which posted a

larger-than-expected quarterly

loss, said it expects to report an

adjusted loss of between US$150-

million and US$170-million be-

fore interest, tax, depreciation

and amortization for 2020.

“We are within striking dis-

tance of profitability,” chief exec-

utive John Foley said on a call

with analysts on Tuesday.

“I believe if we pulled back on

growth we could be profitable

tomorrow, but that is not what

the board and the leadership of

Peloton believes we should do.”

Mr. Foley said the company is

making investments in new

products, content and more re-

tail locations, and plans to

launch Peloton in Germany this

month.

“We think this opportunity

globally is so big that we think

we’re right on the right balance

of investing for future growth,”

Mr. Foley said.

The company sells exercise

equipment and a subscription

service for streaming exercise

classes. Its flagship product is a

stationary bike priced at more

than US$2,200.

REUTERS

PELOTON (PTON)

CLOSE: US$22.74, DOWN US$1.87

Pelotonfeels

theburn

aspost-IPO

resultspoint

tomorelosses

Canada’s trade deficit narrowed slightly in
September, but falling exports and im-
ports bear the marks of a damaged global
trade and investment environment.
Statistics Canada’s monthly merchan-
dise trade report, released Tuesday, pegged
the monthly deficit at $978-million, down
from a revised $1.2-billion in August. But
the improvement came amid slumping
trade demand, as a 1.3-per-cent month-to-
month drop in exports was exceeded by an
even deeper 1.7-per-cent decline in im-
ports.
On a volume basis, which excludes the
impact of price changes, exports slumped
2.1 per cent while imports were down 1.6
per cent.
After a strong first half of the year, ex-
ports stumbled in the third quarter as the
global slowdown in trade, manufacturing
and business investment stemming from
the U.S.-China trade war increasingly
weighed on Canada’s trade flows. Statscan
said exports fell 2.3 per cent quarter over
quarter, while imports slipped off 0.6 per
cent.
“The volume level of exports fell back to
where it was in March, which wipes out the
summertime gains,” Bank of Nova Scotia
economist Derek Holt said.
U.S. trade data, released at the same
time as the Canadian report, showed that
Canada’s biggest trading partner is feeling
the effects of the continuing trade feud
with China, which deepened in September

with the expansion of the tariffs the two

sides have imposed on each other. The U.S.

trade deficit narrowed to US$52.5-billion

from US$55-billion in August, but, like

Canada’s deficit, the decline came amid a

significant drop in two-way trade. Exports

fell 0.9 per cent while imports dropped 1.7

per cent. Two-way trade between the U.S.

and China slumped nearly 6 per cent.

Economists said the weakened trade en-

vironment is weighing on the overall Can-

adian economy, contributing to much

slower growth in the second half of the

year. Scotiabank said that with the Sep-

tember trade report, the economic data to

date put real gross domestic

product on track for zero

growth in September, and a

tepid 1.3-per-cent annualized

pace for the third quarter as a

whole. That quarterly rate is

in line with the lowered esti-

mate that the Bank of Cana-

da issued in its quarterly

Monetary Policy Report last

week.

Canada’s September ex-

ports were weakened by

some temporary factors, in-

cluding production disrup-

tions at East Coast offshore

oil facilities and the General Motors strike,

as well as unusually rainy conditions that

hampered grain harvests and resulted in

sharp declines in shipments. Still, econo-

mists noted that the slowdown was broad-

based, with seven of 11 export sectors post-

ing declines.

They also said that both the import and

export figures show stalled demand for in-

dustrial machinery and equipment – evi-

dence of sputtering business investment,

which has been one of the biggest conse-

quences of the deep and nagging global

trade uncertainties. Canada’s exports of

machinery and equipment have fallen in

three of the past four months, reflecting a

slowdown in U.S. industrial demand as the

trade war has dragged on.

A quarterly survey of U.S. business by

the Federal Reserve, released Monday,

showed fading demand for commercial

and industrial loans – suggesting that U.S.

business investment continues to struggle

in the fourth quarter.

“Unfortunately, demand for Canadian

exports remains clouded by trade uncer-

tainty and the recent contraction in U.S.

manufacturing activity,” Toronto-Domin-

ion Bank economist Omar Abdelrahman

said in a research note.

But economists expressed

guarded optimism that Chi-

na and the United States are

close to an agreement to de-

escalate their trade hostili-

ties, and lift at least some of

the cloud cover hanging over

global trade and investment.

The two sides have been

working on what the U.S. ad-

ministration has termed a

“phase one” deal aimed for

mid-November. Such a deal

would reportedly avert addi-

tional U.S. tariffs on Chinese

goods that are scheduled to begin in mid-

December, and may also include reduc-

tions in some existing tariffs in exchange

for Chinese commitments to increase U.S.

agricultural purchases. However, reports

this week suggest China wants the U.S. to

roll back the tariffs it imposed in Septem-

ber before it agrees to sign a formal deal.

“It is unclear if this will derail this at-

tempt at a deal, as the U.S. wants to main-

tain leverage for future talks,” TD econo-

mist Sri Thanabalasingam said in a re-

search note. “Nevertheless, there seems to

be a bit more optimism in the air.”

Statscantradenumbersshow

growingeffectofglobalmalaise

Monthlydeficitnarrows,

butimprovementcomes

amidslumpingdemand

DAVIDPARKINSON
ECONOMICSREPORTER

Economists said

the weakened

trade environment

is weighing on the

overall Canadian

economy,

contributing to

much slower growth

in the second half

of the year.

Via Railand the Canada Infrastructure
Bank are turning to a U.K. passenger rail
expert to lead the team developing a
multibillion-dollar plan for high-frequen-
cy rail between Quebec City and Toronto.
Via Rail confirmed to The Globe and
Mail that Vernon Barker, an independent
consultant who has previously held senior
positions with Siemens Rail Systems U.K.
and FirstGroup PLC’s U.K. rail division, has
been hired as project director and is put-
ting together a team.
“His considerable experience in the rail
industry and skill at leading high-perform-
ing teams in the delivery of complex, large-
scale rail projects makes him uniquely
qualified for the job,” Via Rail spokes-
person Karl-Philip Marchand Giguère said.
The federalgovernment, Via Rail and
the bank announced in June that the bank
would contribute $71-million toward “pre-
procurement” work for the project.
Via and the bank said at the time that
they would work together over an 18- to 24-

month period to bring the planning to a

point at which the high-frequency rail plan

can attract private investors, such as pen-

sion funds.

Canada Infrastructure Bank chief exec-

utive Pierre Lavallée told The Globe in June

that the work is “far more than a study”

and would ultimately lead to calling for

construction tenders.

The federalgovernment has not given a

final green light to the proposal, which Via

Rail has advocated for years. Previous Via

estimates have pegged the cost at between

$4-billion and $6-billion (the higher cost

would be for electric-powered trains).

Described as high-frequency rail, the

plan would lead to about 850 kilometres of

dedicated passenger rail tracks across Que-

bec and Ontario. The service would use tra-

ditional passenger rail trains – not high-

speed trains – but Via promises that hav-

ing its own tracks will allow for more fre-

quent and reliable service. The federally

owned passenger rail company loses mon-

ey each year and has long complained that

it is hampered by having to share tracks

with freight traffic.

In December, Via announced that it

awarded a $989-million contract to Ger-

many’s Siemens AG to build 32 new train-

sets to replace the aging fleet that currently

operates in the Quebec City-Windsor corri-

dor. The new trains are expected to be in

service starting in 2022.

The Siemens contract was criticized by

Alain Bellemare, CEO of Montreal-based

Bombardier Inc., who said Canada should

be doing more to protect Canadian jobs.

Mr. Barker spent slightly more than a

year with Siemens Rail Systems U.K. as ma-

naging director before returning to inde-

pendent consulting in May, 2018.

After leaving FirstGroup’s U.K. rail divi-

sion in 2015, Mr. Barker spent four months

in 2016 as a participant in the Clipper

Round the World yacht race.

“The race is a test of one’s physical, men-

tal and emotional strength,” Mr. Barker

wrote on his LinkedIn profile. “I sailed

more than 10,000 nautical miles over four

months. An unforgettable adventure, I saw

how complete strangers can work together

to become a strong, determined, motiva-

ted and resilient team.”

AViaRailconductorexitsatraininKingstoninJune.Ifapprovedbythefederalgovernment,Via’shigh-frequencyrailplanwouldleadto
about850kilometresofdedicatedpassengerrailtracksacrossOntarioandQuebec.LARS HAGBERG/THE CANADIAN PRESS

Britishpassengerrailexpertnamed

asprojectdirectorforVia’shigh-frequencyplan

BILLCURRYOTTAWA

WASHINGTONUber Technologies Inc.’s
autonomous test vehicles were involved
in 37 crashes in the 18 months before a
fatal March, 2018, self-driving car acci-
dent, the National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) said on Tuesday.
The board said between September,
2016, and March, 2018, there were 37
crashes of Uber vehicles in autonomous
mode at the time, including 33 that in-
volved another vehicle striking test vehi-
cles.
In one incident, the test vehicle struck
a bent bicycle lane bollard that partly
occupied the test vehicle’s lane of travel.
In another incident, the operator took
control to avoid a rapidly approaching

vehicle that entered its lane of travel. The

vehicle operator steered away and struck

a parked car. The NTSB will hold a prob-

able cause hearing on the crash Nov. 19.

A spokeswoman for Uber’s self-driving

car effort, Sarah Abboud, said the compa-

ny regretted the crash that killed Elaine

Herzberg and said it has “adopted critical

program improvements to further pri-

oritize safety.” The crash was the first

death attributed to a self-driving vehicle,

prompting significant safety concerns

about the nascent self-driving car indus-

try.

The NTSB said previously Uber had

disabled an emergency braking system in

the modified Volvo test vehicle.

In the aftermath of the crash, Uber

suspended all testing and did not resume

testing in Pennsylvania until December

with revised software and with significant

new restrictions and safeguards.

NTSB said Uber conducted simulation

of sensor data from the crash with the

revised software and told the agency that

“the new software would have been able

to detect and correctly classify the pedes-

trian at a distance of approximately 88

metres – 4.5 seconds – before the original

time of impact.”

NTSB added: “The system would have

initiated controlled braking more than 4

seconds before the original time of im-

pact.”REUTERS

UBERSELF-DRIVINGTESTVEHICLESINVOLVEDIN37CRASHESPRIORTOFATAL2018ACCIDENT,U.S.AGENCYSAYS