DVF Welcomes Final Report for Road Freight Transport

The German Transport Forum (DVF) has actively participated as a cross-modal mobility association of the German economy in the commission for road freight transport initiated by Federal Minister of Transport Dr. Volker Wissing. DVF Managing Director Dr. Florian Eck, as a commission member, welcomes the joint final report presented today.

(Berlin) “Our aim was to strengthen not only targeted measures for road freight transport but also the logistics sector as a whole. The federal budget for 2024 has significantly exacerbated the existing scissor effect for the mobility and logistics sector, with increasing burdens from CO₂ prices, truck tolls, track fees, and air traffic taxes on one hand, and the removal of investment funds and incentives on the other. Therefore, it is important that Minister Wissing has acknowledged the urgently needed reduction of bureaucracy for the industry and is addressing the critical hurdles with the responsible departments.”

Eck continued: “Agreements have been made to simplify, among other things, the import sales tax, the establishment of charging infrastructure, funding guidelines, the CO₂ border adjustment mechanism CBAM, and the digitization of reporting obligations through the transport company file VUDat. This would mean a significant relief in costs for the sector without burdening public finances. This, in turn, increases competitiveness, accelerates the transformation of companies, and strengthens the logistics location Germany.” It is about digitizing, simplifying, and standardizing administrative procedures nationwide or even at the European level. For example, it is a central concern of the Federal Ministry of Transport and the logistics industry to simplify the collection procedure for import sales tax through the so-called offsetting procedure.

According to Eck, the immediate program was an important signal of the federal government’s readiness to act, providing additional funding despite a tense budget situation. In particular, the additional funding for commercial fast charging demonstrated the willingness to maintain the continuity of the Federal Ministry of Transport’s e-mobility strategy. It is also urgently necessary to simplify funding guidelines so that an early start of projects at the companies’ own risk is possible, even if the funding approval is still pending. “There was an urgent need for action, especially regarding charging infrastructure and fleet renewal,” said the DVF Managing Director.

Eck demands that the bureaucratic burden on the industry must be regularly reviewed and streamlined: “With each regulatory field, new reporting obligations and compliance costs arise for logistics companies. In addition to the classic customs procedures and business obligations, additional procedures such as CO₂ border adjustment (CBAM), security (NIS-2 directive / KRITIS umbrella law), supply chain law, and sustainability reports are now being added. The complex reporting obligations and decentralized responsibilities create costs and delays without the goods having moved even a millimeter. This is inefficient, drives up logistics costs, and harms the location. Therefore, the work of the commission is not yet finished. Now comes the monitoring of improvements and the addition of bureaucratic relief measures.”

Identified improvements for road freight transport and logistics in ten action areas:

1. Create facilitation for professional driver qualifications and licenses
2. Reduce bureaucratic obstacles in the area of transformation
3. Optimize processes for oversized and heavy transports
4. Design reporting obligations for companies to be simple and practical
5. Facilitate effective, uninterrupted, and safe deliveries in cities
6. Review existing regulations for truck driving bans on Sundays and public holidays
7. Examine and harmonize the scope for funding programs
8. Eliminate competitive disadvantages regarding import sales tax in Germany
9. Prevent disproportionate burdens in the implementation of the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act and the EU Supply Chain Directive
10. Avoid additional bureaucracy in the implementation of the Postal Modernization Act

Link to the final report

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