Earlier we wrote about the implementation of the next phase of the EU mobility package from February of this year. Since then another important factor of price influence came up in the form of the war in Ukraine. In this blog we would like to inform you about how it has impacted our business since then.
War in Ukraine
Like everyone the ongoing war in Ukraine also effects our business. The sharp increase in diesel price, meant we had to exceptionally increase our surcharge during the month. We hope to not have to do this again, however we reserve the right to do so again.
The sanctions put in place by the EU against Russia have led to high stack levels at terminals as all Russia bound containers have been blocked. Terminal operators have therefore become even more strict with the delivery of containers within the set cargo windows. Because of this we would like to ask all of our customers to check with shipping companies whether containers can be delivered one day before the transport.
Regarding the availability of drivers we have not encountered problems yet. Drivers who could possibly be affected have told us they will stay with us and their families have also be been evacuated.
Tachograph change at border
All of our drivers now need to stop at each border crossing to enter the country code into their tachograph. As this is the case for all trucks, stops at busy border crossings have now become congested. Sometimes drivers manage to combine this with their obligatory 45-minute rest, however not all can do this. Due to their being no spots left to stop all the time this can lead to delays of up to 15 minutes.
'Return home' of trucks
Trucks now need to return to their respective home countries every 8 weeks. So far, we have not yet heard from one of our partners being fined for this. The actual application of the rule remains therefore unclear. The start of the war in Ukraine has also put doubt as to in how far much of these rules will be prioritized.
Some of our partners have however decided that they are going to return trucks every 8 weeks and not register them here. For us this will come down to the specific truck not being available for work during one week, lowering our transport capacity.
To conclude, the mobility package and war in Ukraine have not made life easier for all us in the transport business. We will mutually have to accept higher costs for the time being. However, we at Handico Trucking remain committed to overcoming all of these challenges and ensuring the same level of service.
