Neal Martinez, a trucker from Cleveland, fills up his transport truck at the Husky/Esso in Windsor, Ont., on March 4.Dax Melmer/The Globe and Mail
Tuesdays and Thursdays are usually the busiest days at a Husky truck stop in Windsor, Ont., just off Highway 401 and a straight shot toward the Detroit border. But today is quiet.
The gas pumps – normally fully occupied – are half full. The gas station cashier hasn’t even put out the hot food. He says buyers are cancelling loads and truckers are going on holiday.
Lines that would normally back up along Huron Church Road, leading to the crossing along Ambassador Bridge, have dissipated. Despite a short uptick around 3 a.m., shortly after President Donald Trump imposed 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian goods, border waiting times hovered around or below the average for most of the day.
Many truckers still on the road say it’s eerily quiet for a Tuesday, but it’s unsurprising since a similar dip in traffic occurred when Mr. Trump threatened to impose the same 25-per-cent tariffs last month, before agreeing to a 30-day delay.
Jason Roe stepped into the Husky restaurant for lunch. He works across the street as the business manager at the Ironworkers Local 700.
Normally every parking spot is filled, he said. But for three weeks the number of trucks in the parking lot has steadily diminished.
“When I look across the street at the parking lot, and I don’t see any trucks moving, it starts to remind me of the start of the pandemic.”
The border with the U.S. may not be closed because of a worldwide health emergency, but Mr. Trump’s tariffs are a marked departure from decades of trade between Windsor and Detroit. The impacts will ripple throughout the community, he said. The local economy is built on the trading of parts from one automotive city to another.
“We’ve taken [the border] for granted forever, and now its going to show how directly linked our economies are to each other.”
Transport trucks enter the border crossing at the Ambassador Bridge in Windosr, Ont., on March 4, on the first day of tariffs being imposed on Canadian goods. U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs will ripple throughout the Windsor community, where the local economy is built on the trading of parts from one automotive city to another.Dax Melmer/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Roe suspects there will be ironworker layoffs shortly.
The President has linked his new levies to border security as well as America’s trade deficit with its neighbours and other grievances. Mr. Trump has also said companies that move to the U.S. can avoid them.
Neil Martinez is filling up outside the gas station. From Cleveland, Mr. Martinez has been a trucker for 18 years. He welcomes the tariffs.
They are not personal, he said. The President is playing hardball with big corporations who rake in billion-dollar profits yearly and he will return the revenue from these taxes to communities across the country, Mr. Martinez contends.
“He’s saying no more free rides. You want to do business, you got to pay.”
According to Mr. Martinez, big corporations have been taking advantage of truckers for decades. The standard fuel cost he receives hasn’t changed since the 1980s. His income has dropped from around US$100,000 to US$60,000 annually, he said.
He doesn’t know what will happen if tariffs disincentivize trade and decrease demand for his services. It will be painful in the short term, but he thinks he has the upper hand.
“At the end of the day – without truckers – every city will collapse.”
Inside the 24-hour Husky restaurant connected to the gas station, only two tables are occupied. Mike Patterson is having breakfast at one of them. He frequently hauls electric vehicle parts across the Windsor-Detroit border.
Like Mr. Martinez, he’s one of the few drivers who didn’t plan a day off to weather the tariff storm.
Windsor truck driver George sits in his cab at the Husky/Esso in Windsor, Ont., on March 4.Dax Melmer/The Globe and Mail
He said he hasn’t had to do any extra paperwork to prepare for crossing the border with the newly implemented tariffs. He expects it’s mostly being dealt with by others, such as the company leasing his services for the journey.
Mr. Patterson was initially excited when Mr. Trump first took office. “I’m not a Trump fan, but I was glad when he came in because I thought he’d be good for business.”
“But now I’m out on Trump.” Instead of boosting the economies on either side of the border, the President disappointed him by picking too many fights. It’s bad for business, he said. “We don’t want to pick a fight with our closest ally.”
Owing to the interconnectedness of the supply chain, he said a lot of the parts he deals with will cross the border at least seven or eight times before reaching their final destination.
George, a trucker from Windsor who stopped at the pumps, said he also regularly hauls auto parts across the border. The Globe and Mail is not identifying him by his full name so he can speak freely on border issues.
George said he hasn’t seen any logistical impacts from the tariffs yet. However, that hasn’t done much to quell his frustration with Mr. Trump. He, too, feels resentful about the President’s actions.
“It’s like a bar fight. Nobody wins.”