Saxony's chambers of industry and commerce warn of a collapse in the freight forwarding industry

The Saxon Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHK) and the Saxon Transport Industry Association (LSN) have warned the Federal Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing (FDP), of a collapse in the freight forwarding industry. In a joint letter to the transport minister on Thursday, they stated that the transport industry would be threatened with extinction if the legislator did not immediately introduce stabilizing measures.

The industry sees itself heavily burdened by high levies and surcharges for CO2. They lead to "considerable disadvantages in European competition". Eastern Germany is particularly affected by this, as there is no CO2 surcharge on fuel in neighboring Poland. IHK and LSN therefore called for domestic hauliers to either be reimbursed for the CO2 tax portion of the diesel price in the interests of a level playing field or, alternatively, to be exempted from the CO2 surcharge of the truck toll.

An expansion of the truck toll would result in average cost increases of around 83 percent for all federally owned roads. This would reach a point where the existence of small and medium-sized transport companies would be jeopardized by payment difficulties and debt.

They also warned Wissing "against thinking about expanding the network of toll roads to the level of state roads and below". The enormous burden of charges and fees for the industry has already reached a tipping point.

In order to counteract the shortage of drivers in Germany, drivers from non-EU countries must also be able to take up employment as quickly and unbureaucratically as possible.