Eve International Logistics' Nikola Delic on carrier vetting, rising fuel costs and autonomous trucks
Speaking to Automotive Logistics, Nikola Delic, founder of Eve International Logistics, elaborated on the impact of the US Supreme Court's Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II ruling on carriers, brokers and shippers. In addition to sharing insight around carrier vetting, Delic also discussed some recent challenges the industry has faced, from rising costs to extreme weather.
After sharing his insights on Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II – a Supreme Court case in May this year in which CH Robinson was found liable for negligence in selecting an unsafe motor carrier – with Automotive Logistics earlier this month, Nikola Delic, founder of Eve International Logistics, sat down to discuss this topic and others in more detail.
"There are three parties involved in this situation right now," Delic said on the impact to the automotive logistics of the Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II ruling. "I think brokers need to strengthen their carrier readiness… carriers are less impacted by this ruling but they also have to manage their compliance and insurance… the biggest impact has been on shippers because shippers have to ensure that their vetting process is right."
Speaking about Eve International Logistics' own carrier vetting process, Delic said that the company has really strengthened this process in recent years, assigning multiple members of staff to check carriers through four different platforms, while two people check for updates on carrier insurance.
"In our compliance, we accept only ratings of A- or better on insurance certificates," he explained. "The key is to have a daily process in place so nothing slips through the cracks and causes issues later on."
Delic noted that the recent Supreme Court ruling has also affected brokerages in terms of insurance, claiming that their insurance costs are "skyrocketing" – an impact that is likely to be felt harder by smaller brokerages and newer entrants to the market who don't benefit from the economies of scale that larger companies do.
Fuel costs too are rising, and Delic said that while surcharges are helping to offset some expenses, he expects pricing on the spot market to remain elevated for the rest of the year.
"Nothing significant is likely to change in the next few months regarding the pricing," he said. "There'll be higher costs for shippers, but that's the new reality and there's nothing we can really do to prevent that."
Watch the full interview above for Delic's insights on preparing for extreme weather events and the rollout of autonomous trucks over the next decade. And make sure to register for ALSC Global – taking place this week in Plymouth, Michigan – where Eve International Logistics' Nikola Delic will be joined by experts from Ford and the American Trucking Associations to discuss how automotive logistics can mitigate and manage driver and worker shortages.
