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Trucking industry and government negotiators in Ontario have hammered out a tentative agreement over fuel surcharges.

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The provincial government indicated it will not impose a standardized surcharge rate, but negotiators created a formula, using two historic prices of diesel as reference points. On the basis of the formula, the National Truckers Association and the Greater Ottawa Truckers Association suggested 8.9% as a guideline for fuel surcharges to be passed along to owner-operators.

The Ontario pump price for diesel was 50 cents Canadian per liter (equivalent to US$1.27 a gallon) on Jan. 1 and 75 cents (US$1.91/gallon) on Oct. 17. These two price points “were used as a referral point to draw a line in the sand,” said Steve Laskowski of the Ontario Trucking Association. From there, the negotiators developed a formula, based on mileage, freight volume and other factors, as a starting point for figuring out an actual percentage for a fuel surcharge.

The agreement came after a month of contentious negotiations involving the two trucking groups as well as the Ontario Trucking Association and the provincial government.

For the full story, see the Oct. 30 print edition of Transport Topics. .