As residents grapple with higher food and gas prices, local highway departments are preparing to pay more for road salt as winter approaches. In the Columbia County towns of Ancram and Gallatin, the price is rising from $69 to $95 per ton, an increase of nearly 40%.
A review of town budgets found that road salt typically accounts for about 4% to 9% of highway spending. The increases are unlikely to strain town finances significantly, but highway departments are among the more visible parts of local government, and salt prices are rising alongside fuel costs.
“It was a little bit of a sticker shock,” Ancram Highway Superintendent Jim Miller said. “I think five years ago, we were paying $49 a ton and it’s almost doubled since then.”
Miller estimates that the town uses 700 tons of road salt annually. He ordered 250 tons in the spring at the old price and said he will pay the higher price only for additional salt purchased this winter.
The town buys its salt through the state Office of General Services, Miller said, which sets the price and supplier for Columbia County towns. Each May, Miller provides the state with an estimate of how much salt the town might need. He is required to buy at least 60% of that estimate, or 420 tons, and can purchase up to 120% if needed, he said.
During snowstorms in February, Miller said, the town’s highway department waited more than a month for additional road salt to arrive because of high demand and ice on the Hudson River.
“We were really scraping by,” Miller said. “I’ll be all right this year with my budget from the old numbers, but it’s definitely going to have to increase next year.”
Apalachee Salt, which supplies many Hudson Valley towns, including Ancram, Gallatin and Stanford, ships salt from countries such as Egypt, Spain and Italy up the Hudson River to Coeymans, New York. Vice President Jerome Kowal said political tensions in those regions tend to reduce the availability of shipping vessels.
“This entire year, the shipping market has been very difficult, fuel prices have gone up and everything has been creeping up,” Kowal said. “What happened in the past season is, the other suppliers ran out of their supply and everybody came running over to us. As soon as it snows, everybody panics.”
Martin Tirado, executive director of the Wisconsin-based Snow and Ice Management Association, said prices are rising across the Midwest and Northeast after last winter’s above-average snowfall depleted stockpiles and increased demand.
A 50% tariff on salt imported from Canada that was set to take effect in August could have pushed costs even higher. But the tariff was waived in September and did not affect this year’s prices, Tirado said.
In Gallatin, Highway Superintendent Todd Coons uses between 300 and 600 tons of road salt annually, depending on the severity of the winter. The town currently has a full salt shed, Coons said, so the higher prices will not affect its purchases until next year.
In Dutchess County, Stanford faces an increase of about 35%, from $75 to $101 per ton, according to Highway Secretary Carrie DePaola. The town requests about 980 tons annually and is obligated to purchase at least 60% of that amount.
“Although we experienced a challenging winter last year, we currently have a small surplus of salt on hand,” DePaola said in an email. “Because we utilize a 50/50 salt and sand mixture, we anticipate that our existing supply will carry us through the remainder of 2026.”
Stanford Supervisor Julia Descoteaux said she is more concerned about rising fuel costs. The town’s tentative 2027 budget calls for increasing fuel spending by $16,500, a 46.5% jump. Descoteaux said the town’s fund balance will be sufficient to cover the additional cost this year.
Milan and Pine Plains are seeing much smaller increases in road salt prices, from $78 to $81.90 per ton under contracts awarded through Dutchess County’s bidding process.
“I would say typically the costs for us increase annually, pretty much in line with the cost of living,” Milan Highway Superintendent Glenn Butler said.
Butler, who has worked for the highway department for more than 20 years, said the town has not seen a drastic increase in salt prices in about a decade. Diesel prices, however, rose from $3.50 to $4.50 per gallon this year. Butler said the increase is significant and that he plans to transfer about $4,000 from the equipment rental fund to cover the additional expense.
In Pine Plains, Highway Superintendent Carl Baden said he typically requests 1,000 tons of road salt and uses about 700 tons annually.
“I’d much rather have more than not enough. I went down last year, but then we had a huge winter, so I depleted my storage amount,” Baden said. “I just want to make sure I have enough in case we have another big winter.”