German freight forwarders criticize short-term relief measures

German freight forwarders are under pressure despite the fuel discount. The general manager of the Federal Association of Forwarding and Logistics (DSLV), Frank Huster, said that the energy tax cut was “fundamentally a right step”, but that it only had a temporary and therefore limited effect. Another disadvantage of short-term interventions is that they lead to price fluctuations because fuel prices and transport prices are linked via clauses.

DSLV President Axel Plaß said: “Whether it’s an explosion in oil prices or low water levels: politicians are concentrating too much on short-term relief instead of decisively tackling the structural problems.” Growth impulses come predominantly from international markets. The German transport market is suffering from the weak economy. Plaß spoke out in favor of a rapid expansion of the public electric charging infrastructure for trucks.

The DSLV generally complains about a double burden: the member companies paid twice because of the national certificate trading for emissions in traffic and the truck toll, which is also based on CO2 emissions. Huster is in favor of suspending national certificate trading in transport until the system is expanded to the EU in 2028.

The DSLV from Berlin claims to represent the interests of the 2,500 leading German freight forwarding and logistics companies. According to the association, 600,000 people work in the industry.