Last week, I watched one of our most experienced drivers, Mike, pull his flatdeck into our Coaldale yard after what should have been a routine lumber haul to Montana. His fuel receipts told a story that’s becoming all too familiar: $2,847 for a run that used to cost $2,100. But it wasn’t just diesel prices eating into our margins. The load he’d delivered—premium Canadian lumber destined for a housing development outside Billings—would soon carry a 34.45% duty, up from 14.4% just months ago.
“Boss,” Mike said, sliding the paperwork across my desk, “the mill manager told me they’re looking at cutting shifts. Says if these tariffs stick, they might not need us running five trucks a week anymore.”
Mike’s words crystallized what the data has been telling us for months. As CEO of Evans Trucking, I’ve spent three decades building our cross-border flatdeck operation from a handful of trucks to a fleet of 75 units serving Western Canada’s backbone industries. Today, we’re facing the most challenging operating environment I’ve ever seen.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
The American Trucking Associations’ Chris Spear wasn’t exaggerating when he warned that 100,000 truckers hauling 85% of surface trade with Mexico and 67% with Canada would bear “direct and disproportionate impact.” Here in Alberta, we’re living that reality daily.
Our operational data paints a stark picture:
- Lumber/construction sector revenues: down 22% since the new 34.45% softwood duties hit
- Cross-border runs: decreased from 67% to 51% of total operations
- Fuel costs: up 31% year-over-year
- Driver utilization rates: dropped to 78% from our typical 89%
The S&P Global Mobility forecast downgrades—with North American production expected to fall by 1.28 million units in 2025—directly impact our auto-hauling division. Three car carriers that were running full loads to Seattle now sit idle two days a week.
Beyond the Balance Sheet
The real cost isn’t captured in spreadsheets. It’s in the faces of our 127 employees and their families. It’s in the agricultural producers we’ve served for 20 years who are scrambling to find markets after China’s retaliatory 100% tariffs on canola. It’s in the manufacturing clients whose just-in-time supply chains we’ve supported, now reconsidering every shipment.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance’s warnings about immediate layoffs aren’t hyperbole—they’re happening. We’ve managed to avoid cuts so far through creative scheduling and voluntary reduced hours, but that runway is shortening.
Adapting to Survive
Yet this is still Canada, and we don’t quit when times get tough. We’re pivoting our operations with the same determination that built this country:
- Domestic diversification: We’ve increased our interprovincial runs by 40%, particularly serving the energy sector’s continued strength
- Strategic partnerships: Collaborating with other carriers to optimize backhauls and reduce empty miles
- Cost management: Implementing fuel optimization technologies that have reduced consumption by 7%
- Service expansion: Our RGN and step-deck divisions are capturing specialized moves that command premium rates
While the federal government’s remission process offers some hope for relief, we’re not waiting for Ottawa. We’re acting now.
The Road Ahead
Conservative estimates suggest these tariffs could persist through 2026. The simple truth is that protectionism hurts both sides of the border—American consumers will pay more for homes while Canadian workers lose jobs. The integrated North American supply chain we’ve spent decades building doesn’t unravel cleanly.
But from where I sit in Coaldale, watching our trucks roll out each morning, I see resilience. Mike and drivers like him have weathered recessions, oil crashes, and pandemics. We’ll weather this too.
The question isn’t whether we’ll survive—it’s how we’ll emerge stronger. Smart operators will consolidate. Efficient routes will survive. And when rationality returns to trade policy, Evans Trucking will be ready to serve the industries that built the West.
Because that’s what we do. We haul the loads that build nations. Tariffs or not, that work continues.
The views expressed are those of the author and reflect the operational realities facing cross-border trucking operations in Western Canada.