LOGISTICS and transport operators in Cebu are seeking to raise trucking and transport fees by up to 30 percent as rising fuel prices squeeze margins, an industry executive said.
Leslie D. Lim, chief executive officer of LDL Group of Companies, said operators have begun asking clients to allow higher trucking charges, with average pump prices hovering at around P100 per liter.
“We ask our customers to allow us to increase 30 percent on trucking, transport fees at the current P100 per liter average fuel price,” Lim said, noting that rates could climb further if fuel prices continue to rise.
Based on prevailing trucking rates in Cebu of about P9,000 to P10,000 per trip, the proposed adjustment would translate to an additional P2,700 to P3,000 per trip.
Lim, who is also president of the Federation of Ecozone Service Providers – Visayas Chapter, said transport firms are more vulnerable to fuel price increases than manufacturers, as fuel accounts for a significant portion of their operating costs.
“It doesn’t affect too much the manufacturing sector because fuel is a small percentage of their operations. But for transport companies, fuel is vital,” she said.
A member of the government organization Customs Industry Consultative and Advisory Council, Lim also noted that a similar rate increase was implemented during Typhoon Odette, when Cebu faced fuel shortages and widespread power outages.
The proposed hike comes amid renewed fuel price volatility driven by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which have pushed global oil prices higher and triggered successive pump price increases in recent weeks.
The Department of Energy has warned of continued price fluctuations, while lawmakers are considering measures, including granting the president authority to suspend fuel taxes, to cushion the impact on consumers and businesses.
For logistics firms, Lim said, rising fuel costs present an immediate operational challenge, leaving operators with little choice but to pass on higher expenses to clients to sustain operations. / KOC