Retailers struggle to keep prices down

There’s another indication of tough times ahead for our economy. Prices for just about everything have already been soaring over the past months. Retail stores are struggling because higher fuel prices are being passed on to them in the form of shipping surcharges.

For retailers in Hamilton and across Canada, there’s a new challenge in the form of higher shipping charges facing stores already struggling to keep going.

Shipping costs were already high because of the pandemic, now high diesel and gas prices are being passed along to retailers by shipping companies charging additional surcharges that the retailers have to pay.

The shipping surcharge for domestic goods as of tomorrow by FedEx is 41.50 per cent and by Canada Post is 36.50 per cent.

“Adding surcharges to consumers directly is often done as last resort,” according to the Retail Council of Canada, so stores are trying not to pass the additional cost on to consumers.

If businesses have to start to cut back their hiring and scale back their operations and there are fewer jobs available. Economists have been saying for some time, that will start to look like a recession.