Trucking companies in Germany have raised their prices by between 8% and 12% in 2018 ending the fixed trucking costs that have prevailed in recent years.

A very strong German economy has created huge quantities of goods which have to be transported through the country. Bad weather during the whole of 2017 and the start of 2018 brought down power cables and caused trees to be uprooted making many rail links inoperable and increasing the demand for road transport.

A severe truck driver shortage has also added to the problem. In the past when Germany had mandatory military service, many young men were able to obtain their truck driver’s licence free during their time in the forces and later made their living driving trucks in civilian life. Those days are now gone and obtaining a truck driver’s licence is very expensive for young men wishing to enter the profession.

This has resulted in a major truck driver shortage for removal companies in Germany, especially in the container trucking sector. Companies often have trucks and trailers but no one to drive them and the problem is set to get worse during the next few years.

Trucking companies in Germany are sometimes booked for more than a week ahead - especially during the peak holiday seasons and even in normal times at least 3–4 business days’ notice is required for shipments. This has been the case since April 2017 and there is no sign of things improving. Rail transport is even worse with bookings often required up to two weeks in advance.

Information kindly supplied by Matthias Tischer, Carl Hartmann GmbH & Co Germany.