--- title: What Tariffs Are Doing to the Price of Your Next Truck description: Four layers of tariffs now hit medium-duty trucks and bodies sold in Canada. Questions building centres should ask before signing their next truck order. image: https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/2027%20White%20F550.jpeg --- [![Trinity Truck Sales logo](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/Trinity%20Truck%20Sales.jpg)The Building Centre Truck ProgramOperated by Trinity Truck Sales](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/?hsLang=en) [Home](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/?hsLang=en) Who We Help ▾ [Home Hardware](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/the-home-hardware-truck-program?hsLang=en) [Castle Building Centres](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/castle-truck-program?hsLang=en) [All Canadian Building Centres](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/building-centre-truck-program?hsLang=en) [Fleet Advisor +](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/fleet-advisor-plus?hsLang=en) [Our Truck Guide](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/building-centre-product-catalogue?hsLang=en) [About Trinity](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/our-story?hsLang=en) [Blog](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly) [Contact](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/contact-me-global?hsLang=en) ☰ Looking to speak with Phil? call directly at [(289) 527-4345](tel:12895274345) [Home](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/?hsLang=en) › [Blog](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly) # What Tariffs Are Doing to the Price of Your Next Truck ![Phil Aitken](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/e0b1fa7ef5f70dbbc84514aff5461c2a) **Phil Aitken**, President, Trinity Truck Sales • Oct 1, 2026, 9:58:30 AM • 4 min read ![\ A medium-duty truck crosses the Canada-U.S. border more times than most of your customers do. The chassis comes out of a plant in the U.S. or Mexico. The engine and transmission might come from somewhere else. The steel in your flatbed, the hydraulics in your crane and the aluminum in your toolboxes each have their own trip. Then it all gets bolted together, often in Canada, and delivered to your yard. Every one of those crossings can now carry a tariff. Since Homecoming, I've spent a lot of time sorting out what that means for building centres planning a truck purchase in the next year. The short answer is that prices are going up, and they're going up in ways that are hard to see on a quote. ## Four layers of tariffs The first layer landed on November 1, 2025, when the U.S. put a 25% tariff on medium- and heavy-duty trucks, Class 3 through Class 8, and their parts. Trucks that qualify under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement get a break. The tariff applies only to the value that didn't come from the U.S. But the paperwork to prove that only opened up in February of this year, and truck makers carry the cost of figuring it out. The second layer is Canada's own 25% surtax on U.S.-built vehicles that don't meet the trade agreement's rules, in place since April 2025. Ottawa has a relief program for some automakers, but it comes with conditions and an expiry date of April 2027. The third layer arrived on August 22, when the U.S. put a 50% duty on a list of Canadian goods that includes certain motor vehicles. The trade agreement doesn't protect against this one. Washington has also said it plans to raise tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks and parts to 50% on January 1, 2027. The fourth layer is Canada's response. On September 8, Ottawa put counter-tariffs on about $27.6 billion of U.S. goods, including steel products at 50%. That matters to anyone buying a truck body. Flatbeds, dump bodies, crane decks and service bodies are mostly steel and aluminum, and a lot of that metal starts out in the U.S. ## You won't see it as a line item Tariffs rarely show up on your quote as "tariff: $6,000." They show up as a price increase from the manufacturer, a surcharge from the body builder, or a quote that's only good for 30 days instead of 90. In my experience the biggest risk comes from the gap between order and delivery, more than the sticker. A medium-duty truck ordered today might not arrive for months. If the manufacturer or the upfitter adds a surcharge in that window, who pays it? On a lot of quotes, you do. Read the fine print for price protection before you sign. ## What I'm telling building centres right now If you need a truck in the next 12 months, get your spec settled now. Tariff rates have changed several times in the past year, and the one direction they haven't gone is down. A settled spec lets you move fast when a build slot or a stock unit comes up. Ask where the truck and the body are built. Two trucks that look the same on paper can carry different tariff exposure depending on where the chassis came from and whose steel went into the deck. We work with Drive Products, Canada's largest truck equipment upfitter, and that relationship helps us see these costs early. Get price protection in writing. Ask the question in plain words: "If a tariff or surcharge comes in before delivery, who pays?" If the answer is vague, keep asking. Don't let fear push you into the wrong truck. The worst tariff outcome I can picture is a dealer who panics, buys whatever's on a lot to beat a price increase, and ends up with a truck that doesn't fit the job for the next ten years. A good spec at a higher price beats a bad spec at a discount. And look hard at the trucks you already have. If a unit has a few good years left, keeping it while the dust settles might be the best move. Our fleet cost tracker will tell you which trucks are worth keeping and which are costing you money every month you hold them. ## I don't know where this ends Tariff policy is changing week to week, and I'm not going to pretend I know what January looks like. I do know that planning ahead has saved my customers money in every price cycle I've seen, and this one looks no different. If you're weighing a purchase and want to talk through timing, give me a call. I'd rather help you plan now than explain a surcharge later. 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For 18 years Phil has spec'd, sourced and delivered work trucks for Canadian building centres. [Read Phil's story](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/our-story?hsLang=en) or call [(289) 527-4345](tel:12895274345). Have a truck decision coming up? ## Send me your daily load and delivery radius I'll come back with a spec, price and sourcing plan. No obligation, no lot-pushing. [Get a Quote](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/contact-me-global?hsLang=en) ## Keep reading [![Same Truck, Different Licence: How Provincial Rules Should Shape Your Fleet](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/Completed%20Deliveries/Moffett%20Trucks/f750.jpeg)](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/same-truck-different-licence-how-provincial-rules-should-shape-your-fleet) ## [Same Truck, Different Licence: How Provincial Rules Should Shape Your Fleet](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/same-truck-different-licence-how-provincial-rules-should-shape-your-fleet) Sep 30, 2026, 9:07:45 PM [Read the article →](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/same-truck-different-licence-how-provincial-rules-should-shape-your-fleet) [![The Maintenance Binder: Why One Dealer Took Ownership Over Her Fleets Maintenance Schedule](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/Maintenance%20Binder.png)](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/the-maintenance-binder-why-one-dealer-stopped-trusting-her-shop) ## [The Maintenance Binder: Why One Dealer Took Ownership Over Her Fleets Maintenance Schedule](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/the-maintenance-binder-why-one-dealer-stopped-trusting-her-shop) Sep 30, 2026, 4:24:12 PM [Read the article →](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/the-maintenance-binder-why-one-dealer-stopped-trusting-her-shop) [![Why Some Building Centres Are Skipping the Lot and Building Custom Instead](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/Inventory/Ford/Ford%20F-550/F550%20Hodgins%20Rona.jpeg)](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/why-some-building-centres-are-skipping-the-lot-and-building-custom-instead) ## [Why Some Building Centres Are Skipping the Lot and Building Custom Instead](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/why-some-building-centres-are-skipping-the-lot-and-building-custom-instead) Jul 16, 2026, 8:37:15 AM [Read the article →](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/why-some-building-centres-are-skipping-the-lot-and-building-custom-instead) Trinity Truck Sales Inc. Phil Aitken — President  |  (289) 527-4345  |  [phil@trinitytrucksales.ca](mailto:phil@trinitytrucksales.ca) Copyright © Trinity Truck Sales Inc 2026 [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-aitken-a9b96819/?originalSubdomain=ca)    [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561022720417) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Phil Aitken", "url" : "https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/author/phil-aitken" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-01T13:59:37.255Z", "datePublished" : "2026-10-01T13:58:30.000Z", "headline" : "What Tariffs Are Doing to the Price of Your Next Truck", "image" : [ "https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/2027%20White%20F550.jpeg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/what-tariffs-are-doing-to-the-price-of-your-next-truck", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/Building%20Centre%20Truck%20Program%20Logo.png" }, "name" : "Trinity Truck Sales Inc." } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "jobTitle" : "President", "name" : "Phil Aitken", "worksFor" : { "@type" : "Organization", "name" : "Trinity Truck Sales Inc.", "url" : "https://trinitytrucksales.ca" } }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-01", "datePublished" : "2026-10-01", "description" : "Four layers of tariffs now hit medium-duty trucks and bodies sold in Canada. 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