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.

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."

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.