DIEPPE, N.B. — Marine Atlantic has announced it will be raising its rates by 4% for all traffic, drawing ire from the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association. The APTA says it intends to appeal the case, but notes that the local trucking industry will have “no other choice but to pass on the increase to [our] customers,” saying the increase will represent about $3.5 million in additional costs to transport goods to and from Newfoundland and Labrador.

“We are always under the microscope for service in our industry and traffic to Newfoundland and Labrador is not different; we have no other choices to rely on ferry systems,” said Jean-Marc Picard, executive director of the APTA. “Lately, service from Marine Atlantic has been less than favourable causing major delays in delivery of goods, not to mention the strain on the customer/carrier relationships.”

Picard pointed to winds which have caused major delays in the last few months, impacting the delivery of goods to Newfoundland and Labrador.

“This increase comes at an especially bad time due to all of the service issues. We have trucks waiting for the ferry for days, which translates to extra costs for the carriers. Therefore, it is very difficult to pass this increase onto the customers,” Picard added.