Diesel Costs Driving Businesses, Transporters to Adjust with Higher Prices
(Austin, TX – July 9, 2008) Austin-based uShip today released June 2008 figures from the Transportation Price Index (TPI) which rose nearly 18.5% overall to $2.57 from May 2008. The TPI is up over 13% from $2.27 in June 2007. The TPI is released on a monthly basis and was designed by uShip to track important data related to transportation costs. This innovative measure uses proprietary, transactional information from the uShip marketplace to provide aggregate and categorical pricing figures expressed in US dollars per ton-mile.
Diesel prices actually fell about 1.5% for the month but are up more than 63% since June 2007. Diesel prices had risen sharply in each of the past four months, but this steady increase had not translated into a significant jump in the TPI, which actually showed slight decreases in transportation prices for two of those four months. The TPI is now beginning to catch up with climbing diesel prices.
According to uShip CEO Matt Chasen, “Even without skyrocketing fuel costs, we usually see a significant rise in transportation prices across the board during the busy summer season. Considering the huge increases in diesel fuel prices over the past few months, we were doubly surprised when this expected surge did not manifest itself in last month’s TPI figures.” Chasen believes that transportation service providers are adjusting to high fuel costs by raising prices. “Carriers of all types are getting pinched by rising diesel costs, and they are left little choice but to pass some of that burden on to the customer.”
The overall TPI figure in June was driven by substantial increases in the price of transporting vehicles, boats, and household goods. Vehicles showed an increase of 6.1%, and the category has risen nearly 24% over the past calendar year. The price of boat transportation grew 7.5% in June and is up over 35% for the year. The household goods category rose nearly 9% this month but is actually down more than 10% since last June.
Looking at other notable figures, motorcycles, the second-largest category that uShip includes in its TPI calculations, dropped just over 2% to $1.87. Freight fell 14.8% to $0.69, a stark departure from an increase of over 80% since June 2007.
For more information about the TPI and a deeper look at its methodology, please visit www.transportationpriceindex.com. To request an interview with Mr. Chasen, please contact Mickey Millsap at 800-698-7447 ext 102. You may also e-mail him at [email protected]. High resolution images are available upon request.
About uShip
Founded in 2003, uShip is the first and largest online marketplace for shipping services. Members list anything they need shipped, from household goods to vehicles to freight, and receive bids from thousands of feedback-rated service providers, including movers, carriers, transporters, van lines, freight brokers and independent service providers. On any given day, there are thousands of shipments listed on uShip representing millions of dollars of business. It’s totally free for members to list shipments and for service providers to place bids. uShip’s reverse-auction format and patent-pending search technology dramatically reduce shipping costs by allowing service providers to find shipments along their routes and fill empty cargo space. uShip’s feedback system holds service providers accountable for their service and rewards those that perform well. Please visit www.uship.com for more information.
