Big rise in European transport prices

The European transport price index rose 5.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2017 compared to a year ago, according to the Transport Market Monitor from Capgemini and Transporeon.

And it was 17.7 per cent up on the first quarter of 2017, at least partly driven by a 41.7 per cent fall in the capacity index over the period.

Erik van Dort, supply chain director at Capgemini, notes: “Although it is normal for the price index to recover after a traditionally slow first quarter in terms of transport, this year’s price increase of nearly 18 per cent is particularly high. It will be interesting to see whether capacity will remain this low in quarter three, to prevent the decrease of price that has become normal these last few years.”

The diesel index declined after four quarters of growth, to an index of 77.7. This index is 6.2 per cent lower than the first quarter 2017.

The European Trade Flow Index is expected to drop by 3.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2017, but remains on a high level compared to the previous years.

Marc-Oliver Simon, managing partner of Transporeon, said: “Transport capacities reached a seven year low in the second quarter of 2017. This is due, for one thing, to the booming economy. Another reason might be the increasing shortage of drivers. It is indicative of this development that transport prices increased in the second quarter, for the first time since 2014, in spite of the decline in diesel prices. Up-to-date allocation tools, such as on web-based platforms, offer good opportunities to obtain necessary capacity at short notice at times like these, above all at a competitive price.”

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