Trucker Vaccine Rules Are Making Cargo and Fruit Transport More Expensive – Orange County Registry

New regulations that require truckers to show proof of vaccinations when crossing the Canada-U.S. border are cutting capacity and increasing the cost of transporting everything from broccoli to tomatoes.

According to George Pitsikoulis, president and chief executive officer of Montreal-based distributor Canadawide Fruits, the cost of shipping products from California and Arizona to Canada increased by 25% last week because fewer trucks were passing through. more border.

“The less the supply, the higher the price. Ultimately the consumer has to pay for this,” Pitsikoulis said Monday by phone.

Canada implemented new regulations on January 15 that require border agents to reject unvaccinated American trucks, a moving industry executive warned could slow down an already existing supply chain. stress. Canadian truckers who fail to present proof of vaccination will be required to undergo quarantine when they re-enter the country from the US.

Shipping is expected to be disrupted in both directions, according to estimates by the American Transportation Association, with the US imposing its own vaccination mandate on foreign travelers. on January 22. Only 50% to 60% of truckers in the US are vaccinated, according to estimates from the American Trucking Association.

Bison Transport Inc., one of Canada’s largest trucking companies, is poised to lose 10% of its freight capacity as a result, prompting the company to raise wages for cross-border drivers and offer severance pay. The signing bonus is 2,500 Canadian dollars (about 2,000 US dollars). Those costs must be passed on to the customer, said CEO Rob Penner.

“We understood this was going to be a challenge for us,” Penner said in an interview Monday on BNN Bloomberg Television. “We’ve lost almost 10% of our overall capacity, with many drivers choosing to opt-out ahead of time.”

Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Bison, owned by James Richardson & Sons Ltd., has about 3,700 employees and contractors that operate a fleet of 2,100 tractors and 6,000 trailers, according to its website.

Ron Lemaire, president of the Canadian Manufacturing Marketing Association, said there were concerns that large companies would be forced to pay to ensure motorists are vaccinated, driving up transportation costs. .

“I have heard an anecdote that truckers are looking to stop shipping perishable products because there is too much of a risk if they are delayed in delivery,” Lemaire said by email. , noting that the association will closely monitor the impact on the supply chain.

Canadian importers rely on trucks to transport fruit from South America to ports in the northeastern United States A global shortage of containers and truck drivers has caused shipping delays lasting up to two weeks, and Having fewer trucks could make things worse, said Larry Davidson, president of North American Produce Buyers Ltd. in Toronto.

He said the weekend before the vaccine mandate went into effect, the company had only one truck to pick up 75,000 boxes of grapes in Philadelphia.

“Thirty-six of the 37 loads that are ready to be picked up have to wait four or five days,” said Davidson, whose company ships production across Canada. “We’re seeing a continuing domino effect.”