Trucking is one of the main domestic carriers of goods, but moving product isn’t cheap these days. “Current diesel prices are putting immense pressure on trucking companies right now,” says Chris McKee, the executive director of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association. “Every load of groceries, building materials, manufactured goods, and other essential products require fuel to reach its final destination.” It could get worse. Some U.S. senators are pushing for a temporary ban on diesel exports as a way to boost the supply. It’s an idea President Donald Trump says he’s been considering. Truckers are worried about the effects of a diesel ban, even if it is a temporary one. “We are in unchartered territory here, so I honestly don’t know what the impacts will have on prices at the pumps, but it will not be good if U.S. exports are restricted,” McKee says. “We are really concerned for our members, the smaller carriers. A smaller company may have to pay for several tanks of diesel before it receives payment for those deliveries.” An American export ban would not be good for our region, says petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan. Especially as the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John is undergoing maintenance until mid-November. “I would be worried in the weeks ahead that if the us simply cuts off exports that will negatively impact the Maritimes and certainly the west coast of Canada as well, areas that have gotten us supplies of diesel and gasoline in the past,” says Dehaan. Not everyone is on board with the president, there is push back south of the border. “Every signal that an export ban would send are bad for the United States and that’s why there are so many entities in the us forewarning that this is a very poor policy decision,” DeHaan says. Time will tell whether those voices are enough to encourage the president to forgo a halt to diesel exports. Locally, there could be some price relief on the way, diesel is expected to drop when the weekly price adjustment is made at midnight Thursday. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
