The rate stuff

TORONTO –- Another reason to be happy 2009 is fading into your rearview mirror?

Statistics show that overall, trucking rates dove nine percent between January and October of last year.

Results published today by the recently launched Canadian General Freight Index (CGFI) show that except for a brief rise in September, shippers saw their costs go down and truckers lose ground accordingly.

There was some increase in domestic rates but according to Alan Saipe, the president of Supply Chain Surveys Inc., and long time analyst, it was soundly offset by bigger decreases in cross-border rates. (Saipe is a consultant to Nulogx Inc., which introduced the CGFI last summer.

To offset the decrease in rates, carriers upped their fuel surcharges by 0.3 percent in October, but over the year, fuel surcharges mostly went downward, resulting in less revenue for carriers.

The CGFI is used by shippers and carriers to benchmark performance, develop business plans, and secure competitive agreements.