Truckers in Waterloo region fear U.S. tariffs could 'cripple the industry'

Canadian truckers are concerned potential U.S. tariffs against Canadian products are going to cause more financial heartbreak for an industry already beat up from years of a low-freight market, and the rising costs of labour and fuel.

Shelley Walker with the Women's Trucking Federation of Canada, a non-profit organization based in Cambridge that encourages women to work in the transportation industry, says a tariff imposed by the U.S. government against Canada is not something the industry needs right now.

"We have actually had companies that have closed their doors. We have manufacturing companies that are stopping shipments, and are doing layoffs," said Walker.

"The unstable economy in both countries, the elections and the instability in our government have led to people taking a second look at what they're doing and restructuring their businesses."

Walker says she spoke to some dispatchers on the day the scheduled March tariffs came into place and was told "they barely had any freight for drivers to move."

According to the U.S. department of transportation, at least 60 per cent of trade between Canada and the U.S. moves by truck which totals billions of dollars in revenue.

Tariffs could 'cripple the industry'

Jason Bell of WS Bell Cartage in Kitchener says his company is taking the on-again, off-again news about tariffs on a day-by-day basis.

WS Bell Cartage, which ships meat products, machinery and "everything in between" has over the years reduced the number of cross border drivers to 12, Bell said. About 20 per cent of the company's revenue comes from cross-border delivery and they primarily focus on Ontario and Canadian-based markets.

"We are greatly concerned the tariffs could cripple the industry and also worried that a lot of carriers that run U.S. shipments will turn to doing domestic freight," said Bell.

"[That will] make it far more competitive and the rates will decrease in an already competitive industry."

Mike Millian, the president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, which is based in Milton, agrees with Bell.

"There's going to be a shortage of goods being imported and exported, which means there's going to be less demand for drivers to move freight," said Millian.

 "Which means it's going to put some drivers either temporarily out of work, and maybe permanently out of work, depending on how long it lasts."

Solutions from the trucking industry

The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, headed by Millian and other trucking associations, have reached out to politicians with a list of what could help them reduce the financial pain from tariffs.

"I would hope that on April 1 that carbon tax is not going to increase," said Millian.

"If we're not going to remove the carbon tax, at least reduce it to help out. There's an excise tax on diesel fuel that could be removed to help us out."

The carbon tax is scheduled to rise from $80 a tonne to $95 a tonne on April 1. It is scheduled to go up another $15 each year until 2030, when it reaches $170 a tonne. The price of gas will also increase at the pumps.

Along with suspending or reducing the carbon tax and the excise tax on diesel the Canadian Trucking Alliance also outlined a list of other implementations they say could save between $15,000 to $ 20,000 per truck per year.

That list includes:

• The Council of Ministers, which is made up of the premiers and prime minister, develop a trucking tax relief program related to such measures as on-road provincial diesel fuel, provincial taxes/fees associated with the trucking industry, and government shipping procurement practices. 

• Government of Canada increase on-road meal allowance deductibility to 100 per cent for truck drivers facing reduced demands for their service.

• Ensure that any relief packages or program, like the work-sharing program, will only be available to individuals on payroll or independent contractors who have voluntarily opted into EI. 

To be continued

U.S. President Donald Trump paused tariffs on Thursday for the second time this year. Some Canadian goods will have a reprieve until April 2.

But Trump's method of altering the trade rules and announcing a new deadline leaves people like Shelley Walker feeling anxious.

"[Trump says] one minute I'm doing this to Canada and we are preparing and then no, I'm going to relax it for 30 days and then he's going to do it again," said Walker.

"I had a discussion with some industry people and we equated it to mental health abuse. It's like being in that abusive relationship. And that's what Trump is doing right now to Canada."

LISTEN | Local truckers react to U.S. trade war with Canada: 

The Morning Edition - K-W5:45Local truckers react to U.S. tariff trade war

Truckers in Canada are concerned the U.S. tariffs against Canada are going to cause more financial heartbreak in an already downtrodden industry. CBC K-W's Joe Pavia spoke with some local truckers about the impact and some solutions.