Region’s salt shortage a slippery situation

Residential consumers and contractors in Waterloo Region are dealing with a salt shortage that has crippled much of Canada.

“Sometimes you get a little look of frustration, but they seem to understand,” Rick Bolzon, general manager of Glenbriar Home Hardware in Waterloo, said of customers coming in for salt.

The store has imposed a four-bag-per-customer limit in an effort to make sure they can get salt to as many customers as possible, but a number of issues at suppliers, as well as an extremely icy winter, has caused salt to “trickle in.”

Retailers across the region and Ontario are dealing with an unprecedented shortage of salt.

But the shortage of salt doesn’t stop at the consumer level. Contractors are also dealing with inflated prices as a result of the high demand and low supply.

Brian Tester, salt yard manager at TNT Property Maintenance in Kitchener, one of only three suppliers for contractors in the region, said money talks when it comes to getting salt right now.

“You have to show the money to get the honey,” said Tester.

While Tester couldn’t disclose the price TNT pays for salt, he said the cost per cubic yard (about one U.S. tonne) it charges has increased. Last year, it was sold at $100 to $120. This year, it is selling for about $180 per cubic yard.

TNT was able to stockpile salt in the summer while the supply was plentiful and the prices were lower, but now it is purchasing salt for a “premium” price — hundreds of thousands of dollars at the time. “If I want to buy salt for my yard, I have to show them a cheque with six digits,” said Tester.

Ontario municipalities have a guaranteed supply of salt, so local municipalities should be OK. But with the contractors left to buy whatever is left, it’s a difficult situation for many companies, Tester said.

He said the private sector of Waterloo Region uses about 100,000 tons of salt per year.

Part of the issue behind the salt shortage is a 12week strike this past summer at Sifto in Goderich, which put it behind in terms of production. With municipal contracts taking priority, Sifto has stopped selling to contractors and has focused on building up supply. Goderich is home to North America’s largest salt mine.

Even with the shortage, there is little chance of Ontario running dry. Rob Tester, TNT’s president, said imported salt from places like Egypt, Morocco, Venezuela and South Africa is making its way to Ontario.

Jim Maloney, owner of Clintar Landscape Management Services, joined several other companies to purchase a large shipment of salt from Egypt — at a 60 per cent premium.

While there is a push to reduce the amount of salt used in both private and public spaces, Maloney said contractors take on a lot of liability if properties aren’t kept safe from slipping hazards. “We’re trying to balance that.”