W. Germany suffering
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INCREASED competition from West German operators on the international road transport market is likely this year as hauliers seek to compensate for the recession at home.
Inland traffic decreased by a full one per cent during the first nine months of 1982, reports the German Federal Transport Union (BDF).
The fall drove many German hauliers to try their luck on the EEC's tough international market. They increased the volume of goods carried on these foreign trips by nine per cent compared to 1981.
The BDF sees no silver-lining on the horizon for 1983 and no alternative for firms but to screw down costs and continue with a policy of expansion outside Germany.
But the BDF notes that the profit in these foreign markets for German operators is disappointing. It calculates that some £25m is lost every year by the time spent waiting for clearance by customs at EEC frontier posts.
Road tolls charged by foreign countries — particularly Austria — were another expensive overhead.