FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) – The transport industry in Germany expects a further increase in insolvencies. “Given the current conditions, bankruptcies will continue to rise,” said Dirk Engelhardt, head of the Federal Association of Road Haulage Logistics and Disposal (BGL), to the German Press Agency. This primarily affects small and medium-sized companies.
“The situation is catastrophic at the moment,” said Engelhardt. The price increases at the gas pumps since the beginning of the Iran War have placed an extraordinary burden on German medium-sized businesses. But even before the Iran war, the situation in the industry was very tense. The biggest problem is the “rampant driver shortage.” The industry is short of around 120,000 truck drivers, said Engelhardt. And the trend is increasing.
BGL: Companies are reducing capacities
Medium-sized companies reduced their capacities in response to the difficult conditions, said Engelhardt. This is a critical development because it does not appear in any insolvency statistics. But if the economy picks up again or a crisis or defense situation occurs, there may not be enough transport capacity available.
“The economy as a whole is doing very badly. Because its customers are doing badly, the logistics industry is also suffering,” said Frank Huster, managing director of the Federal Association of Forwarding and Logistics (DSLV). “Sales and returns are melting,” said Huster.
Association expects increasing business tasks
The DSLV primarily represents companies that commission transport service providers as freight forwarders, such as those represented primarily by the BGL. “The freight forwarding and logistics industry does not feel bankruptcies to the same extent as the road transport sector,” said Huster. He definitely expects more business tasks there.
A recent prominent example was the Swabian transport company Betz International, which ran into financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy.
“The economic pressure on smaller companies is being further increased by rising wage costs and is also reflected in an increase in bankruptcies,” says a statement from the data service provider Datev on a current analysis of the logistics industry. According to Datev, the industry is increasingly losing medium-sized companies. After the pandemic-related low, the number of monthly bankruptcies is approaching the pre-crisis level again.
Small and medium-sized companies could not hope for a quick improvement, according to Datev’s statement. In view of geopolitical uncertainties and the associated more volatile crude oil and natural gas prices, cost and supply chain burdens are expected to continue to worsen.
What associations demand
A week ago, several transport industry associations called on Chancellor Friedrich Merz in an open letter to act quickly in the cost crisis. Rising energy and operating costs as well as growing economic pressure are bringing numerous companies to the brink of their existence, they warned.
Specifically, the associations demanded, among other things, lower energy and electricity taxes, the abolition of the double CO2 burden in road freight transport and short-term relief such as price caps or compensation payments./rwi/DP/zb
