No such thing as ‘free shipping’
Consumers pay more to cover increasing costs due to fuel prices and delays
National Trucking Week is a time for the industry to celebrate its workforce and take a brief bow for the efficient and reliable service it provides to everyone who makes a purchase, visits a hospital or clinic, or puts their garbage out weekly at the curb.
We all take part in activities that are made possible or easier because of trucking companies and their employees. Despite the hype around automated trucks, the nuts and bolts of this industry haven’t changed much over the years.
However, trucking companies are facing ever-increasing costs, which means even though transportation is a small component of the price of most goods, consumers should expect somewhat higher prices. ‘Free shipping’ is good marketing, but the cost of transportation is buried in the overall price.
For trucking companies, costs fall into three broad categories: equipment, fuel and labour, and all are experiencing increases.
The cost of equipment is rising as truck engines become more technologically advanced and emissions-reduction features add additional complexity and weight. Because a truck’s weight is regulated, heavier equipment means it must carry less cargo, which lowers a truck’s productivity and revenue. Maintenance on more advanced equipment is also more time consuming and therefore costlier.
Diesel fuel costs continue to increase, although price alone is not the only reason fuel costs add up. Any idling time due to both planned (e.g., construction) or unplanned (e.g., highway closures) delays raises the cost of transport. Congestion in major centres, where more and more Canadians are choosing to live, is also adding to costs. For example, according to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the top 20 bottlenecks in Canada (including four in Vancouver) cause commuters to spend an additional 10 million hours per year sitting in traffic. Embedded in that gridlock are trucks trying to deliver their cargo.
Many trucking companies are spending greater time recruiting and training workers, which requires resources. And, electronic logging devices, which are required in the majority of trucks by year end in the US and projected for 2019 in Canada, will record truck drivers’ time more accurately, accounting for every minute of their work day. Even though truck drivers have a generous allotment of work time (14 hours per shift, maximum, in Canada) and driving time (up to 13 hours within that shift), unproductive time like waiting to load or unload or unexpected delays will shorten a driver’s day. As a result, more drivers and more equipment will be needed to do the same amount of work.
Costs are going up for many industries, not just trucking. But trucking is a highly competitive industry that operates on very low margins. In order not to lose business, companies have been poor at communicating cost increases and, historically, have simply handed over any efficiency gains they’ve made to shippers — their immediate customers — and, finally, to us, the end consumers of their services and the goods they carry.
A few extra dollars will be a small price to pay in trade for the many comforts the trucking industry delivers.
Louise Yako is President & CEO of the B.C. Trucking Association (BCTA), a member-based, non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization representing over 1,200 truck and motor coach fleets and over 250 suppliers to the industry. BCTA members operate over 13,000 vehicles, employ 26,000 people, and generate over $2 billion in revenue annually in the province.