Rising diesel costs hurting truckers
With diesel fuel hovering around the $2.50 a litre mark in the north, business owners say it’s getting tougher to keep costs in line week to week.
The owners of Richard’s Moving and Cartage in Timmins move products where they need to go, but said when the cost of diesel fuel goes up, so does the financial stress.
"As the price increases, and at the rate at which it's increasing, your ability to cope and adjust your own internal pricing has really posed a huge problem," said owner Brad Richards.
He said you have to be innovative during these costly times from absorbing the extra fuel increases to making sure drivers take the best routes with the most loads.
But with diesel prices soaring, eventually he has to pass on the added costs to his customers.
"We try to hold the line on increases, but that's getting extremely difficult," he said.
A similar situation exists at local grocery stores in the area that rely on diesel-powered trucks to get food from the farm or factory to the shelf.
A small local grocer said he's been trying to work with small-batch suppliers to minimize the hit.
"Sometimes, they say, 'we'll give you a discount on the product because we still want to ship up.' So we’re working collectively to really keep the prices low. But what's hard on that is the minute the ingredient price goes up, then they really can't help us," said the Urban Market’s Steve Morin.
He said he's been fortunate not to have to hike prices on most of the items in his store.
And, the owner of Plant Based Marche, Sophie Castonguay, said part of the trick to managing shipping costs is larger orders.
"Some of it we pass on to the customers, but it's not as much as if someone were to order something online," said Castonguay.
She said ordering more can also run the risk of holding onto a product for too long.
The local businesses said they're holding steady for now, but industry analysts are quick to point out that if you're noticing higher prices on the grocery shelf or at the hardware store, increased fuel costs are part of the reason.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.