Area municipalities struggling with road salt shortage

Area municipalities have been kept busy this winter clearing roads after higher-than-normal snowfalls, and they’ve had to do it with a shortage of road salt as a Goderich mine struggles to keep up with demand. Oxford County photo

By Lee Griffi

Wilmot Township, East Zorra-Tavistock (EZT), Oxford County and Perth County continue to face high demand for road salt, which remains in short supply.

Ontario is experiencing a provincewide road-salt shortage during the 2025-2026 winter season, which is affecting how municipalities, contractors, and residents manage winter road maintenance.

The province saw an unusually early start to winter with frequent snow events and prolonged cold periods, which has pushed supplies to depletion much faster than expected. Municipalities say they’ve already used far more salt than in a typical season by January. Road salt inventories were already low after heavy use in the 2024-2025 season, leaving less on hand going into this winter.

“We became aware of the shortage in mid-December when reordering to replenish our supplies following an exceptionally early start to winter weather,” said David Kleine, Wilmot’s manager of public works.

“We usually receive orders in two to five business days which allows us to have a continual supply of salt. This season, the orders have taken upwards of 21 days to arrive.”

The township is part of a municipal co-op purchasing group, providing access to better salt prices. It stockpiles salt in the fall and replenishes it as it is used. 

“The supplier is doing their best to meet our orders, but the ongoing, provincewide winter weather conditions continue to be an issue. The salt is slowly being delivered, but it could be an issue for the rest of this season,” Kleine added.

Despite the lack of salt, Kleine said township staff have worked hard to ensure roads are safe for area motorists.

“We have stockpiled winter sand to treat the roads in place of salt. The sand has been doing a decent job of keeping the roads from getting icy.”

Salt is used to prevent snow from bonding to the pavement, allowing plows to scrape the roads more effectively. It also removes ice from pavement, reducing the need for continuous maintenance. Sand only provides traction, does not remove ice, creates dust when it dries and requires additional street sweeping in the spring to prevent storm drains from clogging.

The Goderich salt mine is owned by Compass Minerals, which would not agree to an interview with the Gazette but did provide a statement.

“With the significant impact of winter weather compared to recent seasons, the entire road-salt supply chain continues to experience high demand for de-icing salt. At Compass Minerals, we are actively working to fulfill all current orders, prioritizing shipments for our municipal clients.”

The added production is increasing and they are working hard to meet the increased demand.

“We are focused on moving product as efficiently as possible, while also maximizing daily output from our Goderich mine to ensure optimal, full-season inventory availability across our network. We remain committed to serving all our valued customers in Ontario and all markets that we serve.”

Oxford County didn’t become aware of the shortage until media reports surfaced.

“We did follow up with the supplier to get an official response, and they said the issue wasn’t with the supply at the actual source (in Goderich), but more about a trucking issue of getting the material out to customers,” said Frank Gross, the county’s manager of transportation.

“They can only load so many trucks a day, so that was the bottleneck, the shipping of the salt.”

Compass transports the salt as per the contract with Oxford, but Gross said the county offered to send its own trucks to expedite the process.

“We were told no, we would be in line with everybody else, so it was a matter of how many trucks they could load in a day.”

Some media reports from the area show about 100 trucks in line to receive the salt to take it to destinations across the province.

EZT’s manager of public works said they have also been affected.

“As a result, we have modified our winter-control operations. While we do currently have salt in stock, we have been rationing our supply usage in the event we receive any freezing rain or ice accumulation,” said Tom Lightfoot.

“We have increased our application of sand on the roadways for traction. This works well in these colder temperatures and strong winds we have been receiving. Township staff have also increased plowing operations on our higher traffic-volume roads while allowing snow-pack cover on our lower-volume residential streets.”

He added area roads continue to be within township and Ontario Minimum Maintenance Standards.

Perth County provided a statement to the Gazette, saying it continues to prioritize road safety as Ontario navigates the provincewide de-icing salt shortage.

“While several suppliers serve the Ontario market, the county strategically sources its supply from Compass Minerals’ Goderich Mine, the world’s largest underground salt mine. Its proximity to Perth County allows for efficient haul routes to various public works yards, supporting our essential winter operations.”

It added the county’s winter operations rely on a rolling supply of de-icing salt. Yard inventories are filled prior to the winter season and rolling salt orders are placed with Compass Minerals over the winter season to maintain a supply for its operations.

“The county became aware of supply issues early in December and adjusted its operations in response accordingly to preserve its supply. In response to supply disruptions that emerged in early December, the county proactively adjusted winter-maintenance operations to preserve existing supplies.”

The county said staff are continuing to work closely with Compass to minimize negative impacts.

“We are encouraged by recent improvements in supply as the region faces sustained cold temperatures.”