The giants of the consumer goods market recorded significant increases in freight prices. It is becoming increasingly difficult for them to find carriers. American truckers are able to carry fewer loads due to the introduction of new regulations on tachographs.
Coca-Cola reports that the cost of transporting goods rose by 20 percent in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period of the previous year. The profits of other giants on the US market, such as Procter & Gamble, Danone, and Nestlé, also fell due to price increases in the transport sector. According to the Wall Street Journal, this is the result of bad weather, a lack of job satisfaction among truck drivers and a new federal law that requires the electronic recording of working hours spent behind the wheel.
It’s really coming from the trucking industry and…the new electronic logging-device rules and driver shortages – said Deborah Thomas, Chief Executive of Hasbro, a toy manufacturer. – The contracting supply and increasing demand is expected to manifest itself really kind of throughout 2018″ – she added.
Prices on the spot market are rising
The transport markets confirm the new trend. According to DAT, the largest freight marketplace in the United States, the price for dry vans increased by 32 percent on a year to year basis.
Transport companies also recorded higher profits. Werner Enterprises, a carrier from Nebraska, states that higher contract rates contributed to a 10% increase in average revenue in the first quarter, compared to the same period in 2017.
Photo: Wikimedia.org/RoFra
