“Moving a truck in Argentina was 20.3% more expensive in August. The increases in sector operations They accumulate 92.5% in the first eight months of 2023 and 149.04% year-on-year,” Fadeeac warned in a statement.
And he added: “To find a figure close to that registered last monthwe have to go back to May 2002when the Cost Index prepared by the Argentine Federation reported an 18% increase in operating costs.”
It should be remembered that the report, carried out by the Department of Economic Studies and Costs of Fadeeac, and audited by the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), measures 11 items that directly impact the transport company costs of loads throughout the country, and is a reference to a large extent for the setting or adjustment of rates in the sector.
According to the entity, the final figure for the month even exceeded projections that specialists had made that monthly sectoral inflation would reach 17%.
And September will add more cost pressure, as the first installment of salary increase (25%) will be applied, which implies a floor of 6% in the total index. In this way, inevitably in nine months freight transportation will suffer inflation of more than 100%.
“The August figure gives us special concern because, beyond setting a monthly record in the last 20 years, confirms the growth of inflationary nominality towards the rest of the year”, stressed Roberto Guarnieri, president of Fadeeac.
Inflation: how was the increase in costs item by item
According to the Fadeeac report, of the 11 items that make up the index, 10 increased in August (the only exception was Patents).
At the head were the fuelswhich rose 17.9%, after a period of fixed monthly increases of around 5%, within the framework of the program Fair Prices.
Furthermore, the Federation recalled that “the 18% increase refers to the price at the pump, and is significantly lower than the increase in the cost of fuel in bulk or wholesale, which is used by most of the sector, and which registered increases of around 35%.”
In this context, the Federation added as information that since numerous truckers to load fuel at retail service stations, problems were caused catering and the return of cargo quotas in various provinces of the country.
Meanwhile, lubricants also skyrocketed (27.5%), in line with the evolution of the bulk diesel.
Likewise, what happened with the item fuels -the input with the greatest weight in the sector’s costs-, are added the increases scheduled in August for Personal (15.5%), as well as the strong variations registered in Tolls (42.2%).
Devaluation effect: inputs rose
Lastly, regarding the supplies linked to equipment – many of them of imported origin – “there were also dizzying increases,” said Fadeeac, in line with the depreciation of the official exchange rate.
The increases ranged between 22 and 25% (Insurance, 21.05%; Repairs, 22%; Rolling Stock, 22.7%; and Tires, 24.24%), “in a context of uncertainty regarding the reference prices of the main supplies“added the entity.
General expenses (11.7%), meanwhile, was the item that presented the smallest monthly increase within operating costs, while Financial Cost (31.1%) had a pronounced increase in line with high interest rates.
Source: Ambito
