Brazil road freight and logistics cost pressures

The Brazilian trucking and logistics sector is facing significant financial challenges driven by rising operational costs. Industry executives from manufacturers such as Iveco, Scania, and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus have identified high vehicle prices, elevated interest rates, and increasing diesel costs as primary barriers to fleet renewal. While the implementation of Euro 6 emission standards has increased new vehicle costs, commercial vehicle traffic on tolled highways has seen a 2.5% increase.

In September, road freight costs rose to an average of R$ 8.77 per kilometer, up from R$ 8.72 in August. This increase is attributed to high demand from the agribusiness export sector and rising fuel prices, specifically a 2.70% increase in Diesel S-10. These fuel price fluctuations, influenced by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, prompted the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) to issue a regulatory update to adjust the reference value of diesel used for calculating minimum freight floors.

By the third quarter of 2026, the average road freight price in the spot market reached R$ 0.396 per ton-kilometer, marking a 13% increase compared to the same period in 2025. Although this represents a year-on-year rise, prices fell by 5.2% relative to the second quarter of 2026. This quarterly decline, alongside stable diesel costs, suggests a compression of operational margins for autonomous transporters. During this period, the agribusiness sector accounted for 47.3% of published freight, a figure that increased 31.1% compared to the second quarter of 2026, despite being lower than the previous year due to the closing of the harvest outflow window.