Working to Avert a Trucking Crisis

October 2, 2000

2 October 2000

Working to Avert a Trucking Crisis

During the past two weeks several groups representing the trucking industry, including the National Truckers' Association and the Ontario Trucking Association, have worked to deal with the fuel price issue in order to avoid threatened protests.

Discussions took place last week regarding economic challenges facing the industry. The main issues identified were the problems in getting shippers to pay adequate fuel surcharges, and ensuring carriers fully pass through any surcharges collected to their owner-operators.

As a result of these negotiations, the Ontario government's Economic Development Minister Al Palladini announced that he would pass regulations forcing shippers to pay surcharges and carriers to pass through 100 per cent of those surcharges if the industry could not voluntarily resolve these issues. Mr. Palladini stated that if shippers, carriers, and owner-operators could not work together to find co-operative solutions to these issues, he would use the government's power to impose solutions.

A working group has been established to examine the fuel price problem; there is representation from both federal and provincial governments, owner-operators, carriers and shippers. The following organizations are participating in this working group: the Ontario provincial government, the Ontario Trucking Association, the Canadian Industrial Transportation Alliance, the Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters, the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association and the National Truckers' Association.

This group met for the first time on 28 September, and agreed to three actions. First, the group agreed that they would develop guidelines for the calculation of fuel surcharges and for contacts between carriers and shippers. These guidelines are to be used by carriers and shippers in negotiating individual contracts. These will only be a guideline. However, the Minister has made it clear that if this voluntary approach does not work, he is prepared to pass regulations that would compel the payment, and full pass through, of surcharges.

Second, it was agreed that the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) and the owner-operator groups would sit down to develop guidelines for owner-operator contracts. The current OTA publication, Guidelines for Carrier/Owner-Operator Contracts, will serve as the basis for these discussions.

The third action was a commitment by the chair of this committee (appointed by the government) to go back to the government and press for immediate action on issues such as improving the Drive Clean program, accelerating the phase out of the retail sales tax on warranty repairs and insurance premiums, and making improvements to the Class A licence. These issues have long been a concern to the industry because of their economic impact.

Discussions are ongoing.


Topic(s): 
Canadian Economy & Politics
Information Source: 
Canadian News Channel
Document Type: 
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