3 practical actions for Canadian shippers impacted by the removal of the De Minimus to the USA

Assuming that a) your company is Compliant and b) that some form of tariff will remain in place, there are only a few real solutions to mitigate the increased costs. Goods that are simple would include those without heavy Steel and Aluminum or manufactured in countries without an FTA would be the best examples. As for the tariffs, consider that the CUSMA is up for re-negotiating in 2026. Business as usual would seemed to have ended on August 29th.

1. Transition to U.S.-based Warehousing and fulfillment to reduce per-order customs charges and improve Time-In-Transit. More specifically, a CDN company could “sell” to themselves or an agent in a wholesale or reduced cost thereby effectively consolidating all goods into one Customs entry including the Duty. Shipment pricing is now domestic and usually much cheaper. Obtaining a partner with superior US Domestic Ground rate and has locations near major markets would be a bonus to reduce ground shipping and cut the delivery time. Most important, the end customer in a B2C format is not receiving a “surprise” invoice for customs charges. Less phone calls to customer service and far fewer returns.

2. Investigate bulk Drop Shipping via a Canadian transportation company to consolidate shipments on one day at one Port of Entry. This is a more flexible version of above that also has the benefit of reduced customs and improved time-in-transit. However, the volume needs to be sufficiently large enough to offset the Line Haul charges. A decent option.

3. Courier rates? If they haven’t been touched within 2 years, your company has had two General Rate Increases that are always much higher than 6 percent due to additional charges. ( what other industry gets away with this?) Better yet, get a professional and experienced negotiator to handle this. Many shippers feel they can do it themselves however the courier companies are very. experienced and well-trained in dealing with Price Pressure.

BUT- export numbers from Canada are crating at the moment, and the rate increase is weeks away…if you are an exporter, when will have greater leverage???

Want more info? Contact savings@sospartners.ca