A severe truck driver shortage and newly implemented regulatory limits on drive time are making critical links in US logistics supply chains more costly, prompting companies to raise product prices just to keep up. BASF, Celanese, Eastman Chemical, Formosa Plastics and Oxea are among petrochemical manufacturers implementing price increases on products ranging from dry bulk and packaged products, such as plastic resins, to solvents and hazardous liquids as freight costs rise, according to announcements. Too few truckers, a strong US economy, high demand for moving freight and the lowest unemployment rate in nearly two decades has turned trucks for hire into one of the hottest commodities around. The increases have ranged from 2 cents/lb to 7 cents/lb, or $44/mt to $154/mt. “It’s really just a very tight market with a lot more freight than capacity,” said Avery Wise, vice president of trucking research at FTR Transportation Intelligence, during a […]