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Road operators face bankruptcy warns IRU

[ March 25, 2022   //   ]

European Commission support measures to help companies affected by the war in Ukraine are welcome but do not go far enough to support road transport operators hit by escalating fuel costs, warns the International Road Transport Union (IRU). Director of EU Advocacy, Raluca Marian, said: “The exemptions on state aid are limited and not specific to transport, and escalating fuel prices are not even mentioned. The plan needs specific measures to support road transport operators struggling with out of control fuel prices and facing a cash flow crunch.”

Unlike other sectors such as manufacturing, the transport sector is not mentioned in the Commission’s plan.

IRU says that fuel prices have increased by up to 80% since January 2021, spiking by more than 25% in the past month alone. Fuel represents 30% of commercial road transport operator costs but passing on cost hikes to their customers is often impossible.  .

With thin margins and restrictive commercial terms, many of the one million road transport companies in the EU are on the verge of financial collapse, especially the more than 80% that are small firms with less than ten vehicles, it adds.

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