Fuel prices hitting small carriers hardest, trucking association says

Small trucking companies will be the ones feeling the pinch from Saskatchewan’s record fuel prices.

Susan Ewart, who leads the Saskatchewan Trucking Association, said smaller carriers will struggle with fuel costs more than larger companies will, because many smaller outfits don’t use a fuel surcharge to pass on their fuel costs.

To recoup their costs, Ewart said many trucking companies collect a fuel surcharge. The surcharge added up to 44 per cent in January, she said, but at the end of May, it was 91 per cent. That translates into a hefty markup for groceries and other products shipped to local stores.

Ewart said smaller companies don’t always have the option to pass on their fuel costs through surcharges or by building the costs into contracts.

“There’s a lot of very entrepreneurial trucking companies within Saskatchewan that have five trucks or less that haven’t got well-established surcharges or contracts,” Ewart said.

“It’s definitely impacting their bottom line, no doubt about that.”

With fuel prices this high, Ewart said some rigs in the province might stay parked.

“We could see companies close their doors, stop running so many trucks (and) prioritizing customers,” she explained.

The trucking industry has had no shortage of issues over the past two years.

First was the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to everything from roadside washrooms closed to truckers to vaccine requirements at the border. Now, Ewart said the trucking industry across Canada is short on drivers.

“As we have fewer drivers, the loads can’t go out as quickly. Customers aren’t seeing trucks come and move the exports as quickly as they would like,” Ewart said. “All of these challenges, along with the rising fuel costs, are hurting carriers today.”