American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Canadian retailers are struggling with higher shipping costs as couriers tack hefty fuel surcharges onto shipping rates to recoup record gas prices.
The additional charge is sending the cost of shipping goods within Canada higher, topping 40 per cent for some carriers.
For stores with high online return rates, such as apparel and footwear companies, the increased cost of shipping can be especially challenging.
So far, most companies are trying to absorb the extra domestic shipping charges, Retail Council of Canada spokeswoman Michelle Wasylyshen said.
With inflation squeezing consumers and an ongoing battle for online dollars, she said retailers are reluctant to pass on costs.
"Retail is one of the most competitive industries in Canada, so raising minimum free shipping thresholds or adding surcharges to consumers directly is often done as a last resort," she said.
"Retailers would prefer to find savings elsewhere."
Higher domestic shipping costs come as international freight costs finally begin to stabilize.
Retailers have basically traded more reasonable international container freight rates for higher shipping within Canada, experts say.
"The idea of ever being in equilibrium around fuel prices or containers or what's happening with worldwide supply chains is long gone," Indigo Books & Music Inc. president Peter Ruis said in an interview.
Indigo, which saw online sales soar during the pandemic, is also avoiding raising prices despite skyrocketing shipping rates.
"We're absolutely clear that especially at the moment with inflation and how customers are feeling ... we will not want to be raising prices," Ruis said.
Instead, the company is focused on developing the ability to ship from local stores, rather than from a centralized warehouse, to cut down on shipping costs.
"In October we launch our new website which will have a ship from store facility, which means we can use all of our stores as a warehouse for the online consumer," Ruis said. "If someone's in Halifax, we could choose to send them product from the Halifax store rather than from the central (distribution centre) in Toronto or Calgary."
He added: "In a situation where the fuel charges are really difficult, we can mitigate that by sending stock locally."
Apparel retailers, which often see the highest return volumes among retailers, also appear determined to avoid passing fuel surcharges on.
Canadian underwear and apparel brand Knix Wear Inc., which does most of its sales online and offers free return shipping on most orders, said it doesn't plan to change the qualifying threshold for free shipping.
"We know there are several external factors affecting shipping and costs but we do not want our customers to feel those impacts," company spokeswoman Emily Scarlett said.
Shipping surcharges vary between different courier companies.
A FedEx spokesman said the shipping company manages fluctuations in fuel prices through "dynamic fuel surcharges."
Fuel surcharges on shipments within Canada are subject to weekly adjustments based on a rounded average of the Canadian diesel retail price per litre, James Anderson said in an email.
For packages outside the country, the company bases its fuel surcharge on a rounded average of the U.S. Gulf Coast spot price for a gallon of kerosene-type jet fuel, he said.
The FedEx Express fuel surcharge is currently 41.50 per cent within Canada, and 26.50 per cent on international shipments.
DHL Express said it applies the fuel surcharge to offset fluctuations in fuel prices, which can impact the cost of transportation services --particularly for the company's aviation fleet.
The fuel surcharge for international shipments is set at 25 per cent for July 2022, according to the company's website.
Canada Post's fuel surcharge on domestic services is currently 37 per cent, while its international parcel service is 21.75 per cent, according to its website.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2022.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.