Fuel surcharge regulation on the way?
Ontario Industry Minister Al Palladini reiterated a proposal to regulate fuel surcharges during a meeting with the Ontario Trucking Association and National Trucking Association in Toronto this afternoon.
After both the provincial and federal governments indicated yesterday they had no intention of cutting taxes at the pumps, Palladini did hint he was in talks with his federal counterpart John Manley about regulating surcharges on freight rates if the trucking industry continued to struggle in collecting present surcharges from the shipping community.
OTA spokesperson Rebecka Torn said she was pleased with the possible plan, but did admit that, in order to make up the surcharges, shippers may pass those extra costs on to the average consumer.
In addition to asking the government to take action on regulating surcharges, the OTA is calling on all Canadian motor carriers to impose their own fuel charges in the meantime. They also recommend that carriers seek general rate increases at a suggested rate of 5.5%, charge shippers ancillary service and wait time fees, and fleets pass 100% of all collected fuel surcharges on to their owner-operators, in relation to the proportion of owner-operators in the fleet.
The NTA, which has been threatening protests and shutdowns all week, said it would discuss the outcome of today’s meeting with board members later on tonight, before deciding whether to shutdown.
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45 year’s trucking of which 15 have been as a owner operator, all the while not receiving the fuel surcharge which the company my truck is brokered to charges and receives a significant fuel surcharge.
This is not uncommon.
Example; Trucks which i own haul for , let’s call the company ” Steel supply co” ( SSC for short)
SSC sends my truck to pick up a load 200 miles away which pays $700 to the truck.
SSC charges the shipper for their cost of sending me to pick up and bring back to them this load of steel. SSC also charges 40% Fuel surcharge, which is 40% of the amount they charge the shipper which is also inflated to offset their expenses of office work, dispatch etc, approximately $900 of which my truck receives the $700.
The 40% fuel surcharge is charged on the $900
” freight rate”, or $360. SSC collects the 40% fuel surcharge but only pays 4% of the $700 which my truck receives, which is $28. In total, my truck is paid $728 of the $1,260 ( $900 + $360).
In essence, SSC used the fuel surcharge to pay a good portion of the $700 they pay to me for haulage of that load of steel. By giving me only $28 to offset my fuel costs, SSC kept the balance of the money, in this example it was $332 that SSC kept of what rightfully was to be paid to whomever pays for the fuel, myself. By doing so, SSC lowered their shipping cost as they took $728 out of their bank account to pay me, but put $1,260 into their bank account.
This has to stop.
Consumers are footing the bill of greedy corporations who continue to use any means possible to not pass on money’s collected by them which doesn’t make it to the rightful recipient, and it has been this way for decades.
We need support and we need it yesterday.
How is it that our government can turn a blind eye to such flagrant methods of corruption.
Please…help us.