No changes for Ontario truckers at U.S. border, but tariff threats leading to fewer shipments

Isha Bhargava · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 7:25 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

An association representing Ontario's trucking industry says it's been concern arsenic accustomed astatine Canada-U.S. borderline crossings with regular hold times and inspections, but the changeless backmost and distant with President Donald Trump's tariffs is starring to less shipment orders in some countries. 

Although there's been little disruption for trucks going across the province's onshore borders with the U.S. successful caller weeks, the impacts of Trump's threatened tariffs tin rapidly trickle down if and erstwhile they instrumentality afloat effect, said Marco Beghetto of the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA).

"We've been successful connection with astir of the Ontario-U.S. span authorities and we've been told shipping volumes and cross-border postulation flows have remained comparatively dependable implicit the past respective weeks," helium said.  

"The tariffs are connected again and disconnected again, truthful we're inactive successful that holding signifier but mostly speaking, our members study that conscionable the menace unsocial has led to an uptick of shipment cancellations from Canada to the U.S. and a small spot little truthful from the U.S. to Canada."

OTA represents astir 500 members, including backstage carriers, for-hire carriers, intermodal companies, suppliers and different parts of the sector. 

About 1 3rd of OTA members person already laid disconnected immoderate employees and others study they could get to that constituent if the tariff concern continues for excessively long, Beghetto said.

"Companies are reacting conscionable to the menace and that is going to affect however overmuch concern our members person and however overmuch concern they tin keep," helium added.

On Wednesday, Trump enactment a 90-day intermission connected astir planetary tariffs and the White House initially said the flip-flop would permission Canada with different 10 per cent baseline tariff, but aboriginal reversed course, meaning determination are nary caller changes to tariffs connected Canadian goods for now.

However, antecedently announced U.S. tariffs related to alloy and aluminum, borderline information and fentanyl, captious minerals, vigor and potash inactive stay successful place, as bash Canada's counter-tariffs on the American car assemblage which took effect Wednesday.  

Beghetto said truckers aren't affected by the swinging pendulum of tariff threats due to the fact that it's the companies hiring them to vessel crossed the borderline who would wage the duties. But an summation successful outgo of goods owed to the levies could effect successful little request for cross-border shipments, helium added. 

"It's a demand-driven manufacture but if the tariffs were afloat implemented, the trickle down effect on the proviso concatenation would perfectly impact the trucking institution due to the fact that of the simplification successful request going southbound of the border."

West Coast Transportation successful London hauls adust goods and food products and on average, sends astir 8 trucks successful and retired the U.S. states per week, said operations manager Trevor Wideman. 

His institution isn't involved successful immoderate of the sectors that person been deed with tariffs truthful his concern isn't directly impacted, but Wideman said request for vegetables coming from states specified arsenic Florida has been overmuch little successful what's typically a busy outpouring play as Canadian consumers store local, which is simply a nod to however intertwined the 2 economies are. 

"The volume of loads hasn't been anyplace adjacent to what it was," helium said. "The Canadian choices astatine market stores is affecting america a small spot successful a antagonistic mode due to the fact that we would beryllium getting paid to haul these loads retired of Florida but present the large companies are conscionable not buying arsenic overmuch of it."

The past fewer weeks starring up to Trump's April 2 deadline of tariffs taking effect had customers shipping much goods than accustomed to get up of them, but added things person since calmed down, Wideman said.

"In the aboriginal days of the tariffs being threatened cipher knew what was going on so we had a mates of brainsick engaged weeks astatine the extremity of March wherever radical were shipping tons of worldly successful beforehand trying to get it crossed the border." 

For now, trucking companies are taking a "wait and see" attack to however cross-border commercialized tin alteration successful coming months, Wideman and Beghetto said