Haulage firms operating at the nations ports are currently lamenting over difficulty in meeting up with running bank loans and other financial obligations following the crash of haulage rates at the Apapa and Tin-Can Ports due to delays confronting international shipping because of attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Yemen, by Houthi militias.
Findings by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that container haulage from Apapa to Ikeja, which used to be N500,000 now goes for N250,000, while container haulage to Sango in Ogun State which used to go for N700,000 from Apapa, now goes for N350,000.
Further checks showed that haulage rates from Apapa to Ibadan in Oyo State used to go for N900,000, but now goes for between N450,000 and N500,000.
Speaking on the development, General Secretary, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Mr. Mohammed Sani explained that the forces of demand and supply affected the haulage rates.
According to the AMATO general secretary, ‘Sometime, when there is a surge in imports, there will be higher demand for trucks, and the higher the demand, the higher the haulage rates. The lower the demand for trucks, the lower the prices of haulage rates.
‘Due to attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi rebels in the Medittereanean, ships are taking longer routes to get to West African ports, including Nigerian ports. So, this is causing delays to vessel arrivals and ultimately leading to lower demand for trucks.
‘So, because the demand for trucks has gone down, haulage companies are settling for anyhow prices. It is because of a situation like this that AMATO has been advocating a unified harmonised rates for haulage businesses at the ports.
‘There was a time the Nigerian Shippers Council, now the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), concluded plans to introduce the harmonised rates for haulage operations in the Eastern ports, but it was rejected by the freight forwarders.’
Speaking on how a slump in haulage affects haulage businesses, Sani explained that, ‘Haulage business is all about turn-around because if you don’t get jobs, you won’t be able to meet your revenue target.
‘Most truckers run on bank loans, and to meet this financial obligation, you must get jobs. That’s why when truckers demand fall, every haulage operator struggles for whatever is available. This is why haulage cost has gone down. Everybody is struggling to survive economically.’