New trucking vaccine mandate is likely to make fruit and vegetables more expensive

The cost of produce is likely to go up because of new vaccine mandates.

George Pitsikoulis, the CEO of Canadawide Fruits, said that the cost of transporting fruit from California and Arizona to Canada went up 25% last week.
According to the American Trucking Association, there is a lack of truck drivers who cross the border between the US and Canada due to a vaccine mandate. The group estimates that only a small percentage of US truck drivers have been fully protected. Stephen Laskowsi, president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, told The Wall Street Journal that a survey of Canadian drivers suggested that 10% of them weren't vaccine-free.

Canada has a vaccine mandate for truck drivers. Canadian drivers without a vaccine passport will be required to take a COVID-19 test when they return from the US, while US drivers will have to show proof of vaccination.

The US will impose a similar mandate on January 22 and trucking companies are already increasing their rates to compete for vaccine-vaccinated truck drivers.

Fuel Transport, a Canadian logistics company that employs about 90 truckers, began offering a $10,000 incentive to truck drivers who had received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose. Rob Penner, the CEO of the company, says that the extra cost of the signing bonuses will be passed on to consumers.

James Ward, president of the Truckload Carriers Association, told Insider that he believes the vaccine mandate will make it more difficult to bring in new drivers, as well as add to longer wait times at the border.

The majority of trade between the US and Canada is done by truck. Canada is one of the US' largest export markets. The trade between the two countries was over $600 billion in 2019.

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