TRUCKING COSTS * Russia - Up 15/17 % by the end of the year

* Moscow - A confluence of factors are coming together to increase trucking costs in Russia

--- Higher tolls and less Russian trucking capacity could drive up trucking costs 15 to 17 percent by the end of the year... A key driver in the increase is Russia’s new Platon toll system, fees of which have increased 25 percent since April. Another factor in rising costs is less trucks on the road, as the Russian trucking fleet has shrunk by 10 percent over the last two years, according to government statistics. The industry has also been consolidating since 2014, putting futher upward pressure on rates... Another trend that could cause Russian trucking costs to rise is that the rates charged for leasing trucks have risen from 7 percent to 10 percent in 2015 to 15 percent in 2017. Roughly 85 percent of Russia’s trucking fleet is operated under lease... Trucking currently is the main mode of transport for the delivery of consumer goods and less-than-containerload cargo in Russia, with the strongest growth in refrigerated goods and foodstuffs... The consolidation of Russia’s trucking sector is driven by shipper demands for more sophisticated services, which favors larger players, said Pavel Sigal, head of Opora, a public association of shippers...
(Photo: Trucks drive over on a Military Highway near the Russian border)  --  Moscow, Russia - JOC, by Eugene Gerden - May 18, 2017