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The struggle for survival continues: The sharply rising fuel prices are exacerbating the already tense economic situation in the transport sector. Together, the European Freight Alliance of International Forwarders (ELVIS AG) and the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (BVMW) are now calling for effective relief for freight forwarders: “Politics and administration must ensure more transparency in the fuel market and ensure that falling world market prices are passed on to the end consumer and not used for profit maximization.”
(Berlin/Alzenau) “The transport and logistics sector is still under enormous pressure. After two years of the pandemic, most entrepreneurs are still unable to fully recover. The current price level of fuel further exacerbates this situation and hinders the slowly emerging recovery. Compounding this is the glaring shortage of drivers, which we have been struggling with in Germany for years and which has been further intensified by the Ukraine war,” explains Nikolja Grabowski, board member of ELVIS AG. “Overall, freight forwarders are facing a multitude of problems for which they have no influence over the solutions. The promised reduction in diesel prices as part of the relief package may help secure liquidity in the short term, but substantial support for the companies looks different.”
Needed Help: Now!
On March 23, 2022, the coalition committee agreed on a second relief package, which includes a reduction in the energy tax on fuels for three months. However, it has not yet been clarified when the reduction will take effect. Markus Jerger, chairman of the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (BVMW), states: “For a medium-sized freight forwarder, the current price increases at the pump alone quickly mean additional costs of several hundred thousand euros per year. At the same time, the costs for the additive AdBlue have also risen dramatically. Therefore, companies need effective assistance, and they need this help now. The current relief package can only be the beginning. If the federal government does not comprehensively improve the package and implement the measures immediately, many medium-sized transport companies face extinction. The resulting widespread loss of transport capacities would have devastating consequences for the stability of supply chains in Germany.”
Falling Crude Oil Prices Not Passed On
Additionally, both associations emphasize the importance of functioning market mechanisms and fair price formation in the energy market and call on the federal government to implement more effective control mechanisms to ensure that falling prices in the raw material markets actually reach the end customers.
“We have recently observed that rising crude oil prices caused fuel prices to explode, while falling crude oil prices were not passed on to end customers. It must not be the case that the oil companies indulge their profit motives at the expense of small and medium-sized enterprises and the entire population. Therefore, the federal government must use all available instruments to guarantee a functioning market,” Jerger and Grabowski conclude.
Photo: © BVMW
