Tuesday, March 8, 4:02 p.m

Loss of more than 100,000 truck drivers feared because of the Ukraine war

Frankfurt am Main. According to the Federal Association of Freight Transport, Logistics and Disposal (BGL), the logistics industry in Europe is threatened by the loss of more than 100,000 Ukrainian truck drivers in international goods transport as a result of the Ukraine war. It is to be feared that they would no longer be available due to conscription orders for the Ukrainian army, said BGL board spokesman Dirk Engelhardt on Tuesday in Frankfurt am Main. These drivers would possibly fail with Polish and Lithuanian transport companies. First, the "Central German Broadcasting" reported.

According to the Polish sister association of the BGL, every third truck driver who travels internationally for Polish or Lithuanian transport companies and freight forwarders comes from the Ukraine. With a market share of 20.5 percent for the transport companies of these countries in Germany, Ukrainian drivers would have been behind the wheel in at least 7 percent of the trucks used in Germany in 2021. Eastern European companies have already reported that the first transports there have had to be postponed or canceled. "To what extent this will also affect the supply situation in Germany cannot be estimated at the present time," says Engelhardt.

The situation in the industry in Germany is already tense. According to BGL, there is a lack of 60,000 to 80,000 truck drivers in Germany alone.

As a rule, Ukrainian truck drivers do not receive a work permit from the German authorities. There is also another problem: "Even if only a few German transport companies carry out transports to or from the Ukraine, the industry is indirectly affected by the exploding fuel prices. There is simply a risk of a wave of insolvencies in the German transport logistics industry - then the supply would be population and economy at risk." (ste/dpa)