Big EU truckers to grow as eco laws put others out of business

WHILE environmental regulation works to drive smaller truckers off the docks in the United States and Canada, much the same appears to be happening in Europe because on the big one can afford compliance with new labour and green law demands.

According to the UK's Transport Intelligence's "European Road Freight 2010" report, the European road freight market will become increasingly dominated by the major operators while medium-sized truckers will find it harder to survive.

"We are already seeing a number of good quality, local providers driven out of the market," said chief Transport Intelligence analyst John Manners-Bell.

"The market will become polarised as many medium-sized road freight operators find the burden of costs and regulation too much to bear," he said.

European Union labour and environmental regulations will make it harder for all trucking companies to cope, larger companies are better able to absorb these costs, said the report.

"With oil price rises also on the cards, the market will become increasingly challenging and many will be forced out of business. This will not only impact on the capacity of the market, but also on the quality. Indirectly this will have implications for the major freight operators who will benefit from reduced competition but at the same time suffer from a reduced supplier base - such is the complexity of the European road freight market," said the report.
(Source:www.schednet.com)