Canada and The United States have rolled out a new vaccine policy for cross border truckers. Under new rules that came into force January 15th, Canadian truck drivers need to be fully vaccinated to cross the border without a pre-arrival PCR test and to avoid quarantine, while unvaccinated U.S. truckers will be turned back.
A convoy of protesters involving truckers and people of the industry is headed its way to Ottawa this weekend called – The Freedom Convoy, to host a demonstration on Parliament Hill. A GoFundMe campaign for The Freedom Convoy has reached $4.3 million in donations so far!
It has been estimated that approximately 26,000 truck drivers who cross the Canada-US border are being affected by the vaccine policy. This has certainly caused disruptions in the supply chain of certain industries, especially the food and manufacturing industry. There has been reports of food shortages in grocery stores around Canada. The flooding in British Columbia last fall also caused issues in the supply chain. There’s going to be an inflationary impact on the cost of merchandise coming in from the U.S, especially produce.
The cost of shipping freight has certainly increased because of this. It costs more to move a given load now than before, especially in areas such as British Columbia. The supply of carriers have dropped as well which is causing issues in booking loads resulting in longer wait times.
At Contender Logistics, we have developed very personal relationships with our carriers. Our carriers have been reliable for us since our inception and they still continue to do the most for us. During these unprecedented times, they continue to keep us their first priority. This is why our rates are still competitive and we are able to book loads that other 3PL providers cannot. We take pride in our excellent carrier network that expands from Canada and into the United States. This is also why we are able to accommodate special lanes upon request!
