Austria’s forwarders claim for more support
Poor prospects for forwarding industry in 2009 The current economic crisis leaves its traces – as already feared – in the forwarding industry. For the total year 2009 Harald Bollmann, Chairman of the Transport & Logistics Division of the Austrian federal Economic Chamber, prognosticated at a press conference poor results and a loss of 10 per cent of employees within the branch. The reduced jobs will be partly retained by the new edition of the branch’s foundation called AUSPED. The 20-per cent decline of the import and export business in the first six months of 2009 is deemed as a general decline in demand for logistics services. Against this background the Chairman of the interest group of forwarding & logistics, Walter Mönichweger, claimed in the interest of forwarders for “the immediate reduction of disproportionately high motor vehicle taxation for trucks to the EU’s minimum level“. As Harald Bollmann emphasised, the last mile of freight transport can’t be covered without using trucks. Therefore his order of the day is „reduction of the number of truck driving bans“. This claim is first and foremost dedicated to the ban on night-time driving from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. in Tyrol that shall become effective as of 1 November. Quelle: Österreichische Verkehrszeitung |