PanAm Games surcharge?

[Northam]

I have received notification from a large LTL carrier who is proposing to add a 25.00 surcharge for EVERY pickup or delivery in the GTA from June 26th to the end of the games. Am I wrong to be of the belief that this is a blatant cash grab? If it takes 4 times the amount of time to get around it may be warranted,but I don't for a minute believe the Games will have that deleterious affect on traffic. Any other thoughts on this,or am I just being Scrooge again?

 

[Mario]

Received the same letter for $30.00 surcharge from the start to finish of the Pan Am Games. The letter stated for deliveries in postal codes around the games which include Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton and Niagara region.

 

[drob]

So far we are at 3 carriers who are imposing these charges.. i'm sure more will follow

 

[loaders]

What next.....a "snowstorm surcharge" in the winter? Or a "Friday of a long weekend in the summer" surcharge? Why not just a straight "anywhere in the the GTA surcharge", the traffic is pretty bad around here all the time anyway. Talk about surcharge overload. This industry seems to be taking a page out of the airlines business model.....charge for whatever you can squeeze out of the customer.....and that's after you've already squeezed them into ever smaller seats!

 

[theman]

Hey, Uber is going to do it too, apparently ...

 

[GSTRUCKS]

Wow, lots of brokers chiming in here I guess... for those of you willing to take the gamble of no delays from the Panam games, how about the carrier charges you by the hour for pick up's and deliveries from their yard instead then (this way IF there is a delay, and everyone here seems to think there will not, then its your loss not the carriers? That seems like a fair compromise, no? A minor $20 to $30 charge I think is MORE than fair for added time getting through the clusterf*ck of traffic we call the GTA (it is bad on a regular day, everywhere...and it will get worse with these games, unless they plan all of the events from midnight to 6am... Oh wait, that wont work will it!). Would you prefer all of this hit the fan when the games started and you are left under the gun selling it to your customer then? We all know the trouble the carrier gets in when not on time for an appt; so I commend the carriers adding this charge in advance (foresight) to address possible issues with this event, and shame on the brokers that are not willing to work with this. We all work with the $1.30 per miles rates we get offered daily because you had to go in at a $1.50 per mile to make your margin as a middle man to "keep your customer". How about all of us carrier's boycott deliveries and pick ups for brokers who won't pay a surcharge within the GTA. I can assure you the local cartage company to get the freight to a carrier dock is going to be more than the $25-$30 bucks in question here... in fact it should be a percentage for this charge (I would say around 20%) of the freight rate to be even more fair to everyone, this way the 1 skid order pays proportionally compared to a TL. If you think carriers are out there just looking for cash grabs you are wrong... the cost of running a truck is around $1.50 - $2 per mile, that is if you include a small amount for a return on investment in trucking; something to think about the next time you sell a load for anything less than this to a carrier (NOT including the Panam games to contend with) & we have to pay all of our bills within 1 week for fuel to 30 days for our shop costs (or they cut you off right away)... maybe it is just a "cash grab" from us money hungry carriers...

 

[loaders]

I believe that it has been and always will be the consumer's right to complain. Just like additional baggage fees, PamAm Games surcharges will probably have to be paid, but we don't have to like it, or agree with it. Any freight broker "worth his salt", has (or should have) a pretty good grasp of what trucking costs are. If a carrier decides to deal with those brokers who don't, as evidenced by the example described below, well, that's your choice. In my opinion, part of the broker's mandate, is to ensure his customer is receiving value and service for their transportation dollar, just as a carrier would do for their customer. Questioning surcharges or any additional costs is just part of the job. Explaining and justifying them is also part of that job.

 

[Salma]

A larger issue than just the surcharge is that during the panam games everyone needs to accept the fact that transit times will definitely increase for any type of freight heading to or even through the GTA. Shippers should not expect the "usual" transit time - they need to have the product ready early and on the truck early.

 

[Igor Galanter]

Traffic will be a nightmare from my point of view. So this "surcharge" will probably cover constant driving on 407 from one end to another to pass by .. On another hand , shippers and receivers should be more flexible to appointment times and work with carriers and NOT against..I am hoping it will be first come-first serve basis.

 

[MarkD]

How nice of the poster to accept an extra $25 charge if the job takes 4 times as long LOL.