Reform, crime and truck drivers worry transportation – 06/20/2023 – Market

Changes in laws and regulations, such as tax reform, are the main risk faced by the transport sector in the country, according to businessmen and representatives of the sector, according to a survey carried out by the CNT (National Transport Confederation).

“Topics under discussion that may come to fruition, such as a new fiscal framework and tax reform, have a direct and significant impact on the sector, as taxes are levied on various essential inputs to guarantee services, such as fuel”, says the study.

“Depending on how these issues are handled and approved, they may increase the tariff incidence and costs for the sector, affecting its ability to forecast and plan medium and long-term investments — conditioning or even inhibiting decision-making in the present” , continues the document.

The study, called the Transportation Sector Major Risk Analysis, was brought forward to Sheet.

The material brings together responses from representatives of 50 of the 74 federations, unions and entities that make up the CNT. In the questionnaire, respondents were asked to answer how likely each item, from a list of 29 threats, would be to happen in the next five years, how much this could affect their activity and the transport sector in the country as a whole and how they evaluated the way in which the sector and public power were or were not prepared to deal with that situation.

The other points that generate more concern are, secondly, organized crime; thirdly, the shortage of qualified labor and, fourthly, extreme weather events, such as heavy rains.

“In the past, road cargo theft was the most common, almost exclusive. There were few cases of piracy in ports, but that has changed. In the North region, in the Amazon Basin, criminal action has intensified”, says Bruno Batista, director – executive of the CNT.

Regarding the lack of workers, Batista points out that the main problem is the shortage of truck drivers. “Vehicles are becoming more and more technological. They have braking control systems, body balance, and a lack of skilled labor. Companies open a selection process and are unable to replace it”, he laments.

The increase in unusual weather events, such as major storms, wildfires and rising sea levels, is also of concern to the sector, as they end up delaying or preventing travel, damaging physical structures and generating losses.

As the material was prepared for the first time, it is not possible to make comparisons, to point out changes in the themes of greatest concern, for example.

Batista considers that the public sector should be more attentive to the risks that may threaten the country’s economy. He argues that the government should create more robust forecasting models and forecasting strategies. “We were surprised three years ago with the pandemic, that nobody was prepared, it wasn’t even on the radar”, he recalls.

In the current ranking of concerns in the transport sector, a new pandemic only appears in 8th place. See the full list below.

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Risks that most concern the transport sector

1. Changes or insufficiencies in legal, regulatory, tariff, fiscal and/or tax policies
2. National and/or transnational organized crime
3. Scarcity of skilled labor
4. extreme weather events
5. Excessive bureaucratic, legal, administrative and/or technical obstacles
6. Global, regional or national economic instability
7. Difficulties or insufficiencies in accessing sources of investment and/or access to credit
8. Pandemics
9. Cyber ​​crime and/or conflict
10. Increase in costs due to environmental actions