Rep. Arnel Ty of the LPG Marketers Association on Thursday urged the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to recall what he described as “harsh truck-load restrictions” which took effect on June 1.
Ty, a member of the trade and industry committee of the House of Representatives, said the new truck-load restrictions could eventually lead to a significant higher fuel and food prices in the weeks ahead.
“We are pushing for the immediate recall of the new truck-load limits, which are bound to jack up the transport cost of rice, corn and other basic food supplies, as well as petroleum products,” Ty said.
The new load controls were prescribed by the DOTC and the DPWH to protect the country’s network of roads from being damaged or destroyed by the weight of cargoes during transport onboard cargo trucks.
The controls are now being enforced with the use of weighbridges in key trucking entry and exit points throughout Luzon.
However, Ty said the measure would also unavoidably level up the prices of cement and other construction materials, and add in a big way to the cost pressures on merchandise exporters.
“The new curbs imply that a producer or manufacturer that used to move 100 percent of its shipment in just four trips, will now have to add an extra fifth trip to deliver the same batch,” Ty, also House transportation committee member, said.
“Offhand, we are looking here at a potential 25-percent increase in trucking costs,” he added.
The new load restrictions effectively reduce by 25 percent the allowable gross vehicle weight (GVW) of the largest truck-trailers.
GVW refers to the combined weight of the vehicle and its cargo.
Under the new rules, the maximum allowable GVW for the largest 22-wheeler truck-trailer with three axles and another three axles at the trailer is fixed at 45,000 kilograms, down from the previous 55,000 to 60,000 kilograms.
Meanwhile, the maximum permissible GVW for the smallest six-wheeler truck with two axles is pegged at 18,000 kilograms.
The lowered load thresholds are supposedly meant to ease the strain on the country’s aging network of roads and bridges, especially in Northern and Central Luzon as well as Metro Manila.
