Truck rates still high, despite end of port woes

Exporters lamented the prevailing high trucking costs, which they said raises the cost of doing business, despite the rate reduction claimed by trucking companies following the resolution of the port congestion.

At least 20 member-companies of the Philippine Chamber of Handicraft Industries (PCHI), Home Accents Group of the Philippines (HAPI) and the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines (CFIP) surveyed by Philexport News and Features said trucking rates were still the same as of April 30.

“It’s still P18,000 from P8,500 [to transport 20-foot container],” said a handicraft exporter.

“Not with us. The rates they charge us are still 2.5 times more than precongestion rate,” another company representative said.

A home-accents exporter stressed that trucking companies continue to charge higher despite reference rates.
The Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines (CTAP) lowered its guide rates for the transport of containerized cargoes on April 15, 2015. These are supposed to be 10percent lower than those charged on March 15, 2015 but still higher than the pre-congestion levels.

The Integrated NorthHarbor Truckers Association is expected to follow suit this month.

Meanwhile, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) exporters are concerned over the delay in delivery of export shipments despite pronouncements that the congestion has been solved, resulting in lost clients and sales.

“It was a loss of confidence maybe on the part of my client to his clients; loss of confidence why it was not delivered [on time]…. It could have been another round of order if they were not affected,” said Maria Lydia Lomibao, owner and manager of J. Emmanuel Pastries.

Gerome Panlilio, general manager of Germano’s Chilli, also expressed concern related to delays in shipments due to the port bottleneck.

Export markets of Germano’s Chilli, a maker of chili garlic sauce in olive oil, include the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

For his part, Jimmy Chan, vice president for Operations at Accutech Steel and Service Center Inc., urged the government to provide more and bigger facilities to handle bigger vessels.