For some companies, the rule is to use cabotage and the exception is road transport!

In the last month, I spoke with large companies operating in Brazil and I was happy to learn that many of them are using cabotage as their main means of transport for long distances. Road transport, which until recently was the main mode used, has now become secondary for these companies. In other words, we began to see cases in which road transport became the exception and cabotage became the rule.

Many companies said they started using cabotage because of the more attractive cost. It is known that depending on the type of product and the distance to be traveled, the cost reduction can vary between 20% and 35% in comparison with road transport.

In crisis years, such as 2015 and, according to forecasts, also 2016, a reduction of this magnitude is significant and very welcome. It is worth remembering that transport is responsible, on average, for almost 60% of a company's logistics costs, which makes a cost reduction in this activity a lever for the margin and, consequently, for the companies' profitability.

In addition, the perception of user companies is that in recent years shipowners have invested in new ships, new routes and increased frequency, thus making the use of this modal easier. The point of attention for shipowners seems to reside in the complementary road to the cabotage service. Most of the companies that have tried to use cabotage to deliver directly to their customers, and not just for transfers between their warehouses, say that the problem is at the final delivery point. As a result, these companies stepped on the brakes and returned to road transport.

The challenge for shipowners is how to solve this problem and deliver the level of service that meets the requirements of their customers' customers. When they discover that answer, we will have a new level of cabotage in Brazil.