THE Visayas United Truckers Association Inc. (Vutai) is actively coordinating with government authorities to monitor the ongoing rehabilitation of the San Juanico Bridge, a critical inter-island transport artery.
This collaboration comes as delivery and logistics rates across the Visayas and Mindanao regions are projected to increase in the coming months, a direct consequence of mounting delays linked to the bridge’s repair.
Israel Alin, president of Vutai, confirmed that transport firms will be compelled to pass on escalating operational costs to consumers and clients.
“Expect rate increases soon,” Alin said in an interview. “Truckers are left with no choice as delays translate to higher fuel consumption, extended driver hours and costly supply chain disruptions.”
The San Juanico Bridge, which connects Samar and Leyte islands, is undergoing a multi-year rehabilitation project that has significantly slowed cargo movement in the Eastern Visayas. As a strategic conduit for goods moving from Luzon to the southern regions, the disruption has led to widespread congestion and forced rerouting of trucks onto less efficient alternative paths.
“The bridge has become a logistical chokepoint,” Alin noted. “It’s a nightmare scenario for freight operators.”
Logistics providers are exploring interim solutions, including roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) shipping and containerized transport via smaller vessels. However, Alin emphasized these are “stopgap measures, not sustainable fixes,” due to insufficient capacity.
The association’s coordination with authorities aims to track the rehabilitation timeline, which is anticipated to last up to two years. In the interim, truckers are adjusting routes and tariffs amid heightened uncertainty.
Alin said that the sooner the repairs are completed, the better for all sectors.
Other challenges
He added that prolonged shipping delays from the Middle East, particularly Dubai (typically a 25-day transit), are being exacerbated by the San Juanico Bridge bottleneck, disrupting inventory and risking time-sensitive cargo.
A slowdown in US demand, influenced by new tariff measures and inflationary pressures, is also beginning to ripple through Asia-Pacific trade channels. Alin said some US-bound shipments are now on hold, with expectations of softening freight volume in the latter half of the year.
Amid rising domestic costs and external volatility, the trucking industry in the southern Philippines is bracing for an extended period of operational and financial turbulence.
“It’s a challenging environment,” Alin said. “But the sector is resilient. We’re adapting, but we need infrastructure solutions to catch up — urgently.”
Disaster to all retailers
Earlier, Roberto Go, spokesman for the Philippine Retail Association-Cebu, warned that the ongoing limited access at the San Juanico Bridge, a critical link between Leyte and Samar, is creating a “disaster for all retailers” in the region.
Go highlighted a looming supply concern for goods, attributing it not only to the imposed truck ban but also to a scarcity of shipping lines servicing the route and government-mandated price controls.
“Shipping through alternative routes costs more than the allowed price under price control. Suppliers won’t absorb the added cost and retailers can’t either. So, no stocks are arriving,” he explained.
In response to the economic fallout, five major industry groups in Eastern Visayas have issued a joint resolution. They are urging the Regional Development Council-Eastern Visayas and relevant national agencies to implement an Emergency Economic Mitigation Plan to address the severe impact of the bridge’s ongoing rehabilitation efforts. / KOC