Brazil’s freight pricing crisis, explained

When independent Brazilian truckers staged a 10-day strike late in May, the whole country went on a shutdown mode. As two-thirds of cargo transportation in Brazil is made through roadways, several regions experienced fuel and food shortages, hospitals postponed surgeries, millions of animals died of hunger as their feed never reached its destination. When the truckers decided to go back to work, after the government met their demands, it seemed that things would return to normal.

But, as happens more often than not in Brazil these days, the crisis refuses to be resolved.

The government promised to publish a reference table of minimum freight prices, in response to truckers’ complaints that...