Delivery rate hike looms: San Juanico bridge rehab disrupts supply chain

Delivery and logistics rates across the Visayas and Mindanao are expected to rise in the coming months, as the Philippine trucking sector contends with mounting delays linked to the ongoing rehabilitation of the San Juanico Bridge—one of the country’s key inter-island transport arteries.

Israel Alin, president of the Visayas United Truckers Association Inc. (VUTAI) confirmed that transport firms will be left with no option but to pass on rising operational costs to consumers and clients.

“Expect rate increases soon,” Alin said in an interview. “Truckers are left with no choice as delays translate to higher fuel consumption, extended driver hours, and costly supply chain disruptions,” he added.

The San Juanico Bridge, which connects the islands of Samar and Leyte, is currently undergoing a multi-year rehabilitation project, significantly slowing cargo movement in the Eastern Visayas region.

With the bridge serving as a strategic link for goods moving from Luzon to the southern regions, the disruption has triggered widespread congestion and forced rerouting of trucks to alternative, less efficient paths.

“The bridge has become a logistical choke point. It’s a nightmare scenario for freight operators,” he emphasized.

To cushion the impact, logistics providers are exploring interim alternatives such as roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) shipping and containerized transport using smaller vessels.

But these solutions remain suboptimal. “The current RoRo vessels simply don’t have the capacity to handle the volume we’re used to,” Alin said. “These are stopgap measures, not sustainable fixes.”

The association is in coordination with government authorities to closely monitor the rehabilitation timeline, which is expected to take up to two years. In the meantime, truckers are recalibrating routes and tariffs amid rising uncertainty.

“The sooner the repairs are completed, the better for all sectors,” Alin said.

The domestic strain comes at a time when international trade pressures are also mounting.

Alin cited the impact of shipping delays from the Middle East, particularly Dubai, which typically has a 25-day transit period to major Philippine ports such as Manila or Cebu.

The San Juanico bottleneck is extending delivery windows further, disrupting inventory cycles and increasing risks for time-sensitive cargo.

Compounding the issue are broader macroeconomic headwinds. A slowdown in U.S. demand, amplified by new tariff measures and inflationary pressures, is beginning to ripple through Asia-Pacific trade channels.

“Some shipments bound for the U.S. are now on temporary hold,” Alin said adding that with consumer spending weakening in the West, “we’re preparing for a softening in freight volume in the second half of the year.”

Amid rising domestic costs and external volatility, the trucking industry in the southern Philippines is bracing for an extended period of operational and financial turbulence.

“It’s a challenging environment,” Alin concluded. “But the sector is resilient. We’re adapting, but we need infrastructure solutions to catch up—urgently.”