Exporters reeling from harsh truck load limits by Jun 15, 2013 1:30pm HKT THE party-list group LPG Marketers’ Association (LPG-MA) has urged the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to recall its new truck load restrictions, which have caused unnecessary bottlenecks in export production and shipments. “Exporters are reeling from the harsh truck load limits. They have to deal with delays in the arrival of imported raw materials. Then they also have to cope with holdups in the shipment of their finished products,” said LPG-MA Rep. Arnel Ty, House trade and industry committee member. “Pending DPWH consultations with the appropriate congressional committees, we are pushing for the immediate suspension of the load restrictions, which have achieved nothing, except to create unwanted hurdles that undermine our exporters and other manufacturers,” Ty said. Ty made the statement shortly after the National Statistics Office reported that the country’s January to April merchandise exports fell by $1.392 billion, or 8 percent, to $16.122 billion compared to $17.514 billion in the same four-month period in 2012. Ty said the new truck load restrictions have caused port congestions that have slowed down shipments. “The port jams are being caused by inadequate weighing operations. In some ports, there is simply not enough weighing equipment around,” he said. Ty earlier warned that the new truck load limits could jack up fuel and food prices, and possibly even lead to food supply disruptions in Metro Manila, which relies on rice and other provisions routinely brought in from Northern and Central Luzon. The DPWH, in conjunction with the Department of Transportation and Communications, imposed lower load restrictions for all cargo trucks effective June 1. The new controls reduced by 25 percent the maximum allowable gross vehicle weight (GVW) of the largest trucks. GVW refers to the combined weight of the vehicle and its cargo, from rice, corn, meat, poultry, fish and other food supplies, to petroleum products, building materials such as cement, and other manufactured goods. Under the new rules, the topmost permissible GVW for a 22-wheeler truck-trailer with six axles has been trimmed down to just 45,000 kilos from the previous 55,000-60,000 kilos. The curbs imply that a manufacturer that used to move 100 percent of its cargo in just four trips, will now have to add an extra fifth trip to deliver the same batch. This in turn suggests a corresponding 25 percent increase in trucking costs, according to Ty, House transportation committee member. The DPWH said the lowered load thresholds are meant to ease the physical strain on Luzon’s aging network of roads and bridges.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 19:08:14 +0000