Trucking firm fears B.C. Ferries rate increase

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VICTORIA, B.C. — A B.C. Ferries rate increase will cause trucking companies to downsize and lay off drivers, one Victoria-based fleet manager told local media.

On Apr. 1, B.C. Ferries will increase the rate-per-foot for commercial vehicles by 20 cents/foot to $5.25/foot on well-travelled routes. Dennis Frith, owner of Blueboy Express, told the Nanaimo Daily News the change will mean layoffs.

“Right now, the trucking industry is going through a major recession. Most industry freight rates are going down so companies can remain competitive, but our costs for things like fuel, ferry rates and barge rates continue to increase,” Frith told the paper. “It’s a matter of simple economics when costs go up and revenues go down, something has got to give and it is going to be jobs.”

Frith said it would be the second time in three years he’d have to downsize his fleet.

“It’s a huge increase to our costs. Sometimes we have more than 265 feet a day going back and forth between the Island and the Mainland,” he told the paper. “It adds up over the course of a week, month, year. It definitely hits our bottom line.”

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