Polish haulers slowly move into Germany

The number of applications from Polish haulage firms for a German-EU joint license doubled in 2021 to 46. According to the Brandenburg Ministry for Infrastructure and Regional Planning,11 applications or inquiries have been received so far in 2022.

In large part, this shift is due to the EU’s Mobility Package, ostensibly designed to improve working conditions for long-distance truck drivers. Yet it is seen by some as placing obstacles to foreign haulers based outside of Germany, but much of whose operations are in Germany. However, EU freight forwarders with a local branch can bypass the regulations.

According to the German association of transport companies, LBV, German transport firms serve 60% of orders on the local market, while the remaining 40% are carried out by companies from abroad, mostly from Poland.

Since February 21, non-German haulage companies have been obliged to return trucks to company headquarters every eight weeks. Further rules were added, governing what is known as cabotage, transports carried out by an EU company within another EU country.

Anna-Christine Weirich from the Fair Mobility Project of the German Trade Union Confederation, explains the rationale behind the EU legislation. "What seems to drive haulers in general is enhancing profits by reducing costs by any means, usually to the detriment of drivers and their working conditions," she said.

In the future, after three such cabotage trips, a "cooling-off phase" of at least four days must be inserted, during which time the truck must leave the country.

Polish haulers unhappy

"The Mobility Package could lead to the elimination of Polish carriers from the European market. And it is happening now," said Malgorzata Morman, whose transport company Margo is based in Kozuchow in western Poland, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of the border town of Cottbus. Its German subsidiary, Margo GmbH, is based in Frankfurt (Oder) and operates eight units in Germany. 

Morman's Polish haulage company made the decision to set up its own company in Germany a year and a half ago. "We adapted to the changes very early on," said Morman. "It's about access to the market, and the EU Mobility Package restricts us a lot."

"We are moving our business to Germany so that we can work normally, sleep well and comply with the law," Morman explained.

"This year is very difficult for transport. I think that in a few months there will be a shortage of carriers on the German market. Companies that are able to reorganize will continue to operate normally. But many companies will drop out, and that will be a big problem because supply chains will be disrupted," she added.

Since the beginning of the year, Polish truck drivers and haulers have also been shaken by a tax reform introduced by the national-conservative PiS government under the name 'the Polish Deal'. In particular, companies have to pay more social security contributions. 

In December, the Polish National Debt Register reported that the industry's debt had increased by 27% compared with the pre-pandemic period. Nearly 23,500 companies had overdue liabilities. 

A storm in a teacup?

However, a report by Trans.INFO shows that industry insiders consider it unlikely that most Polish forwarders will migrate to Germany. 

Such a step will benefit only Polish transport companies whose work consists almost exclusively of cabotage services, it says. For everyone else, such an option is unattractive due to the difficulties in hiring drivers from third countries, as well as the higher cost of labor and the exchange rate.

Alicja Chodorowska, a senior specialist of the Transport Department of the Polish Association of International Road Haulers (ZMPD), said that to date none of the members of the ZMPD had decided to take such a step.

"There can be no question of a collective exodus from Poland. Of Poland's 38,000 haulers, perhaps only a few hundred are engaged in cabotage," Chodorowska said.

"We have no information from members of the ZMPD that because of the Mobility Package and the Polish Deal they decide to leave Poland and set up companies in Germany," Anna Brzezinska-Rybicka, a ZMPD spokesperson, said. 

"Some of the carriers may have made such declarations, but there is still a long way from words to actions," she said.

"In the case of the Mobility Package, the main issue was the remuneration of drivers and, more specifically, the drastic increase in costs for the employer with an unchanged salary for the driver," Brzezinska-Rybicka insisted.

"However, in their calculations, haulers take into account other costs which are higher than in Poland, which means that doing business in Germany is not cheap," Brzezinska-Rybicka added.

“For haulers who organize cross trade and other international operations, moving to Germany is not attractive — bilateral, transit and empty transports are exempt from posting so haulers will continue to pay drivers the minimum wage of their country of registration (Poland) plus allowances and (hopefully) pay German minimum wages in the case of posting to these countries, whereas seated in Germany they would have to pay at least German salaries no matter which kind of transport operation takes place," said Anna-Christine Weirich from the Fair Mobility Project.

The other way

"There is also a trend of haulers from other eastern European countries moving closer to their main market," said Weirich. "[They are] moving closer to the German border in order to reduce the distance to their main market. We have observed this kind of movement by Lithuanian companies who have opened new branches in western Poland," she added.

"There is a much more significant trend towards the other direction that we have been observing over the last few years: German (and Dutch and French) logistics companies open companies or branches in Poland or Lithuania in order to exploit workforces at a lower price," said Weirich.

Edited by: Hardy Graupner