For a few weeks, 2025 looked like a rebound year for Canada’s trucking industry.

Truckers entered January in their strongest rate-negotiating position in two years. The post-Covid capacity glut and prolonged, painful freight recession seemed to be on the wane. Political change was in the air.

And then our neighbors to the south started what the Wall Street Journal called “the dumbest trade war in history.”

The last time I saw this much confusion, anger, and uncertainty in our industry was the financial meltdown of 2008-2009. It’s like we’re at the top of a long rollercoaster. In the dark. With a guy at the controls who wants us to throw up.

Tariff percentages, start dates, exemptions — everything is a moving target right now. And that’s the biggest problem. Uncertainty can chill investment, merger-and-acquisition activity, and rate negotiations with customers who are rewriting their 2025 forecasts. Again.

What can a trucker do?

Control what you can control, starting with sales. Here’s my sales playbook for managing customer relationships in uncertain times.

Sell the steak and the sauce

Every trucking company starts with owners wanting to fill an unmet need in the marketplace. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, that unique value proposition almost always gives way to cheaper rates.

Anyone can compete on price. Instead, find what makes your service worth paying for. And sell it.

We recently tackled this dilemma at Rite Route. We’re a freight broker, and it’s tough to stand out as a middleman in a crowded, commoditized business.

We asked our customers why they chose us over the competition. Their responses?: You answer the phone 24/7/365. You solve problems before they become problems. You make my job easier.

Service. Expertise. Communication. Those are our deliverables. The recipe for our secret sauce.

Price? Not on the menu.

Match the message

A buddy in investment banking called looking to buy a regional trucking company for a manufacturing client. He and his research team were at the start of the process, scouting websites, and were having trouble finding targets that matched their search criteria.

They couldn’t easily figure out whether a company was a carrier, broker, or sales agent, let alone what makes them different.

“Jacks of all trades, masters of none,” he said.

Most carriers have niches that should make them stand out, but you wouldn’t know it from their marketing.

We see this all the time at Rite Route. If you run specific lanes, say so. If you have specialized equipment or expertise, let’s hear it.

In sales, it’s tempting to generalize and say you can solve any problem. But when you fish for everything, you catch nothing.

Align your message with what makes you exceptional. That way, prospects who need your service can find you. When they do, you can start talking about solving their problems and not how low you can make the rate.

Your real competitor

When I was a young sales rep for Yellow Freight System, I quickly realized I wasn’t competing with the other national LTL carriers. We all had the same bells and whistles.

I was selling against their sales reps. As long as I did a better job, I would have no problem stealing their customers.

This holds true today.

Your main competition is not the name on the truck but the people who work for them in your town. Find out that terminal’s strengths and weaknesses. Benchmark against them. Talk to their customers about pricing, service, and responsiveness. Winning business might be as easy as answering the phone instead of hiding behind voicemail.

Prepare to pivot

When the dung hit the fan in 2008, my trucking company’s business model went from boom to bust almost overnight.

We had to pivot, and fast.

Our sales team got closer to customers, emphasizing communication and collaboration. We identified services they wanted, adding verticals in trailer storage and U.S. domestic.

We were proactive instead of holding on for the ride.

It wasn’t perfect. But we learned how to make a tasty secret sauce and emerged from the financial crisis a better company.

Shippers want stability, service, and expertise from their sales reps. No one needs a trade war, but like the Globe & Mail says, “This can be Canada’s time, if we choose it to be.”

Buy Canadian!