RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the first week of April, the drop in demand for freight reached 25 percent compared to the first week of March. Road transport of manufactured goods, such as household appliances, declined 38 percent.
The building sector falls right behind, with a 34 percent reduction in freight orders. Agribusiness figures among the least affected sectors, with only a 1.4 percent reduction in transport.
The data are from FreteBras, an online cargo transport platform that includes 370,000 truckers throughout the country, and were obtained exclusively by EXAME news magazine.
The contraction in road haulage is expected to increase in the coming weeks, according to FreteBras. “People have become aware that they can’t leave their homes, and as a result the trend is that demand for various types of products will drop even further, impacting cargo transportation,” says Bruno Hacad, FreteBras’ director of operations.
Demand is expected to decrease by at least 30 percent this month. The sectors most impacted should be durable goods, with 60 vehicle plants paralyzed in the country. In March, the volume of cars, trucks, buses and light commercial vehicles produced dropped 21.1 percent year-on-year, according to the National Association of Vehicle Manufacturers (ANFAVEA).
Source: Exame