In one year, the increase in the price of diesel surpassed readjustments in the minimum floor of cargo freight

In one year, the average price of a liter of diesel at gas stations increased by around 57%, according to data from the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).

Meanwhile, in the same period of time, the floor for general cargo freight in Brazil had a readjustment of 29.7%.

In a July 2021 National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) table, the minimum price for general cargo freight, for two-axle trucks (the smallest size on the market), was R$2.25 per kilometer.

In the last update, in March of this year, this value increased to R$ 2.92.

Last Friday (17), Petrobras announced a new adjustment of 14% in the price of diesel for distributors.

However, the increase equivalent to R$ 0.63 has not yet reached gas stations, and has not been recorded by the ANP.

The table of a minimum price for freight in Brazil was a claim by truck drivers in the category strike in 2018, during the Michel Temer government.

At the time, the government determined that every six months the freight floor would be updated, and the variation in the price of the service would be based on criteria such as the type of cargo, the distance traveled and the depreciation of the equipment, for example.

However, ANTT changed the parameters that would define the adjustment, and decided that the update and the percentage of the increase in the freight price would be defined through the average price of S-10 diesel.

If the fuel had a 10% increase at gas stations, the table will be updated, without a time lag.

In May of this year, President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) sanctioned Provisional Measure 1117/2022, which lowered the trigger value to 5%.

In a note sent to CNN the Federation of Autonomous General Cargo Truck Drivers of Rio de Janeiro (Fecam-RJ) states that the Minimum Freight Floor policy was an achievement of the category, supported by the population after the 2018 stoppages.

However, the entity criticizes the changes made in the legislation and the increases in the price of diesel.

“Autonomous truck drivers are plunged into crisis. It’s pure insecurity. Anyone who is hired for freight from the Northeast to São Paulo runs the risk of paying out-of-pocket costs due to successive increases in diesel. As if that weren’t enough, most companies insist on breaking the law in the face of the certainty of impunity. There is no inspection on the roads”, they say in a note.

Fecam-RJ also highlights that the lag in the value of freight has forced the category to submit to exhausting journeys and other dangers. “If nothing is done, Brazil will stop again.”, completes the position.

THE CNN questioned ANTT about the disparities in the readjustments of the minimum freight floor and the increase in the price of diesel.

In a note, the Agency informed that “it will determine the result at the pump, after the publication of the ANP bulletin and will promote the necessary adjustments in accordance with the Federal Government decree and Provisional Measure 1117/2022.