The war in Ukraine also affects the Limburg economy. The Venlo transport company DSV decided on Tuesday afternoon to close all its branches in that country, while other companies are concerned about rising fuel and energy prices.
This is apparent from a tour of L1 along Limburg transport companies.
Safety first
DSV has more than 20 years of experience with transport to Ukraine. Full loads depart daily to and from Ukraine. On Thursday afternoon, the company announced that it was closing five offices in Ukraine. “Safety first,” says spokesperson Erwin Peeters of the transport company. “The offices will be closed indefinitely. We do this to avoid unnecessary risks and to keep our employees safe.” The fourteen offices in Russia will not be closed for the time being.
Cyber attacks
Air traffic to and from Ukraine has been shut down. The number of trucks driving to and from Ukraine is severely limited. DSV has announced that the cessation of activities also applies to IT activities. “We have implemented strict security measures to protect our customers and DSV from cyber-attacks,” the company said.
Loss of turnover
Transport company KLG also has close contacts in both Russia and Ukraine. The company does not supply their products directly to customers in those countries, but does so with Eastern European partners. Yvonne Peeters of the Venlo company says they are closely monitoring the situation. “We are currently analyzing the shipments that are on the way. We communicate intensively with customers and partners. The basic principle is that we look for what is possible. But there is a real chance that we will cancel transports and lose turnover as a result.”
Rising fuel prices
The transport companies that do not do business directly with Russia or Ukraine are particularly concerned about rising fuel and energy prices, of which Russia is a major supplier. Also Ben Peters of transport company Kempen BV from Venlo. We have 6 million euros in diesel costs every year. That could easily become a million euros more. This is passed on to the customer and ultimately ends up with the consumer. That increase was of course already underway, but the war in Ukraine is now only exacerbating this. As a company, we do not immediately notice the consequences. It is felt by the bottom of society. They get the real bill.”
Electric driving
Due to the rising diesel prices, entrepreneurs are looking at alternatives, such as electric driving. But Bennie Geraedts of transport company Steenbergen from Venlo, which only operates in the Benelux, states that this development will take some time. “It is not yet financially interesting. I think it will take at least five years before we drive with electric trucks. The network is not yet set up for it. We just can’t get rid of diesel yet.”
geothermal heat
At ZON Veiling, the largest auction in Limburg, director John Willems is also concerned about rising energy prices. “Energy is becoming an increasing cost item and at some point growers can no longer pass on that. That will become a real problem with these energy prices. And it was already dramatic. Growers would like to work with geothermal energy, but that has recently been banned by the government. Too many uncertainties about the consequences if we go deep into the ground, but I think that is mainly sentiment after the experiences in Groningen. I think if you really want to become less dependent on, for example, gas, that geothermal energy should be used.”
SME Limburg
The Netherlands exports about 6.5 billion euros worth of goods to Russia. That has already decreased in recent years due to a boycott of, for example, fruit and vegetables that has been going on for some time. About 500 million euros will go from Limburg to Russia. Not very much in terms of total exports, but SME Limburg is still very concerned.
“Germany exports much more to Russia”, says Paul Verhoeven, vice-chairman of MKB-Limburg. “And again we supply a lot to those German companies that make products for export to Russia. So if the Germans can no longer export, we will notice that here too.”