The latest Canadian General Freight Index released Wednesday, Nov. 30, indicate that the cost of ground transportation for Canadian shippers in September remained the same when compared with August results. However the Base Rate Index, which excludes the impact of accessorial charges assessed by carriers, decreased by .1 percent for the same period, the first decrease in base rates since March 2011.
Offsetting the decrease in base rates were slight increases in both average fuel surcharges assessed by carriers and other accessorial charges. During this period, the fuel surcharges assessed by carriers equated to 20.16 percent of base rates, up from 20.1 percent in August. The combined effect of lower base rates and higher accessorial charges resulted in no change in average transportation costs for Canadian shippers.
“The slight decrease in base rates was predominantly driven by reduced costs in the transborder truckload sector,” says Doug Payne, president and chief operating officer of Nulogx, which oversees the index. “Over the summer, these movements were subject to significant cost increases, and it is possible that these are easing somewhat.”
