Steve Scherer, David Shepardson

OTTAWA/WASHINGTON – Trucking lobbyists from Canada and America warn of a disruption in supply chains if workers are required to undergo vaccine and testing. This is because there is an acute shortage of truck drivers.

Canada will soon require vaccinations for truck drivers beginning in January. The Biden administration issued regulations requiring that truck drivers with more than 100 employees be vaccinated.

Two-thirds or more of the goods between Canada’s border and the United States are transported on roads and highways. Because truckers are essential workers that keep the supply chain flowing, they crossed the border frequently during most of the pandemic.

Stephen Laskowski (president and chief executive, Canadian Trucking Alliance), which includes approximately 4,500 carriers, stated that “we know there is already disruption in the supply chains; this will intensify it.”

If the new requirement is implemented, it will affect 10-20% of Canadian truck driver drivers (between 12,000-22,000 and some 16,000 U.S. drivers who travel into Canada).

This isn’t a trucking problem. Laskowski stated to Reuters that this is a Canada-U.S. issue. He added about 70% of the C$650 billion ($507 trillion) U.S. trade movements by truck.

Along with other organizations, American Trucking Associations (ATA) is trying to prevent U.S. president Joe Biden’s mandate for vaccines in court.

A U.S. appeals court issued a temporary stay https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-federal-appeals-court-issues-stay-bidens-vaccine-rule-us-companies-2021-11-06 last month blocking the requirements. According to the court, the trucker aged 28 years spent the majority of his working day in the United States.

The solitude in his cab makes him less likely to be harmed by COVID-19 than an older prison janitor of 62 years.

The Justice Department requested another court to lift the temporary stay. A decision may be made as early as mid-December.

Supply chain problems caused by the pandemic has contributed to inflation in both countries rising to decades https://www.reuters.com/business/us-consumer-prices-surge-weekly-jobless-claims-fall-2021-11-10 high.

Chris Spear, President and CEO of ATA said in a statement that the industry is unique and has a workforce of workers. “It could have disastrous impacts on both the supply chain (and the economy) due to its nature.”

The ATA stated in written comments that the country’s motor carriers may lose as much as 37% of its drivers due to “retirements or attrition to smaller carriers/or conversion to owner-operators independent contractors.”

70% of U.S. freight traffic is handled by motor carriers.

Laskowski claimed that 18,000 jobs are available for truck drivers in Canada. Laskowski is asking companies to extend the deadline of Jan. 15, so they have time to resolve the problem.

When asked if truckers will be allowed more time, Canada’s Transport, Health and Trade Ministries did not respond.

According to a Transport Ministry spokesperson, it encouraged all Canadian industries and sectors to adopt COVID-19 vaccine requirements for their workers.

Despite the potential disruptions, some 70% of Canadians support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s strict https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/unvaccinated-federal-workers-canada-will-be-put-unpaid-leave-globe-mail-2021-10-06 mandates, according to an EKOS Research poll.

Perrin, the president of Canadian Chamber of Commerce said that “we will be experiencing shortages of products in stores” if the vaccine deadline isn’t delayed.

($1 = 1.2826 Canadian dollars)