Canada's truckers have been hit hard by the president's trade war
Steve Austin has been driving trucks for nearly five decades.
Kimberly Adams/Marketplace
At a truck stop and rest area just north of Toronto along Highway 400 in Ontario, Steve Austin pulled a red and white big rig in for a bit of a break.
The company he works for usually delivers goods from the U.S. to Northern Ontario, but these days, “business is really, really slow,” he said. “I’ve had a couple three-day weeks, and the days I’m working six, seven [hour] days. And I’m used to 11- to 12-hour days. It really is hurting.”
The trade war is costing Austin half his paycheck, he said.
According to the Canadian Trucking Alliance, Canadian trucks move about 80% to 90% of American exports to the country. The CTA surveyed its 5,000 members about the impact of the trade war so far.
“About 10% to 15% of our members have already laid people off, meaning that there’s no freight to move,” said Stephen Laskowski, the CTA’s president and CEO. “And well over 30% to 40% are saying they’re close to laying people off.”
There was an initial boost in business when the president announced his tariffs and businesses tried to stock up before the new taxes hit, Laskowski said. “Now, our members are sitting and waiting for calls. There is little demand right now in a lot of sectors, so a lot of trucks are sitting.”
Truckers are seeing big drop-offs in traffic, from the automotive and agriculture sectors. But hauling Canadian goods within Canada is holding up a little better.
At the truck stop, Dale Johnstone told me his business slowed down a bit at the start of the trade war.
Dale Johnstone at a truck stop and rest area just north of Toronto along Highway 400.
Kimberly Adams/Marketplace
Now, moving mixed freight between the Greater Toronto Area and Central Ontario, “actually, I’m pretty busy. I got a full load that I got to get back up to central Ontario with this afternoon and get it unloaded,” he said.
But Johnstone knows his bosses and the rest of the industry are worried about the future.
Steve Austin, who’s been driving trucks for 49 years, said the slowdown has him thinking about retiring a little earlier than he’d planned.
“Your president is changing his mind every other day about tariffs on this and tariff on that, so we’re just hoping it just all settles down,” he said.
Until then, he’ll be on the road doing what work he can get.