Česmad Bohemia, the Czech Republic's main transportation association, has projected bleak prospects for its members following last week's investigation. Besides the inevitable increase in road tolls in Germany, which will significantly increase the costs, Česmad Bohemia states that Czech carriers will face an unprecedented low number of orders over the next 6 months.
According to the Česmad Bohemia survey, only about 20% of carriers were optimistic about the next 6 months, 20% lower than in the summer of 2023.
The second major challenge is negotiating higher rates with customers in view of the huge impact of the inevitable toll increases in Germany. According to the Czech freight association, 40% of customers have not yet confirmed whether they agree to the tariff increase.
In his comments, Vojtěch Hromíř, General Secretary of the Česmad Bohemia Association, noted that no one expected tolls to nearly double in Germany. According to Hromíř, no single road operator would be able to cover even a part of the toll increase in Germany, as margins in this area are only in the range of a few percent. Moreover, carriers should also expect higher costs for empty transit miles.
The expert believes that the increase in tariffs for road transportation is inevitable.
Source: trans.info