TORONTO — For the second straight year, Ontario’s Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) has cut General Trucking rates.

Although the average rate increase is frozen at 0 percent, the Ontario Trucking Association says rates in 2008 for trucking have been modestly reduced by 2.4 percent.

The General Trucking rate (rate group 570) will be decreasing from $5.84/$100 of insurable salary to $5.70/$100. The Warehousing rate group will see a 1.8 percent cut from $2.73 to $2.68 and Courier Services will also drop by 2.4 percent from $2.54 to $2.48.

The discount for trucking reflects the ongoing efforts by the industry to reduce on-the-job injuries and fatalities, says OTA.

“I’m extremely pleased that the WSIB has decided to continue to resist the urge to hike rates. WSIB Chair Steve Mahoney deserves much of the credit for keeping the average rate frozen for another year,” said OTA President David Bradley.

“I’m even more pleased that the trucking industry’s improving on-the-job safety record has been acknowledged in the form of lower rates. The industry is working hard to reduce the number and severity of work related injuries, and everyone in the industry, from drivers to CEOs, deserves a lot of credit for the results that have been achieved to date.”

While the WSIB has kept rates down for 2008, Bradley says the OTA remains concerned that the WSIB continues to indicate that cost pressures may mean rate hikes in future years.

“Any increase in payroll taxes, which is really what WSIB assessments are, will have a severe impact on Ontario’s economy and we will continue to lobby hard to make sure that rates will at least stay frozen, if not decreased,” Bradley adds.