VDA President calls for toll rise to be temporarily postponed
Commercial vehicle industry records massive fall in orders
Munich/Frankfurt am Main, 26 February 2009. "The worldwide financial and economic crisis is causing the biggest collapse in demand ever seen. Germany expects the most severe fall in economic performance since the Second World War. The crisis is characterized by the fact that all the major automotive markets are affected. And the slump in business is even more drastic for the commercial vehicle manufacturers than for the makers of passenger cars," stressed Matthias Wissmann, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). He was speaking at the VDA's eighth Logistics Congress, which the Association has organized in Munich in cooperation with BMW and Webasto.
Demand for heavy trucks and trailers has really imploded, Wissmann said. Incoming orders from Germany and abroad for heavy trucks were down by almost 80 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008 and in January they were 62 per cent below the previous year's volume. German manufacturers of trailers and bodies had already recorded a double-digit drop in order levels since the beginning of 2008 and in some cases have seen a fall of over 90 per cent in recent months. "This collapse in sales threatens the existence of many companies that are fundamentally healthy, and have a strong position on the European market and powerful drive to innovate, forcing them into rapid and painful adjustment processes. The figures show that 2009 will be the most difficult year for the automotive industry for many decades," Wissmann declared.
"We are facing up to the huge challenges. The German automotive industry has set itself the clear goal of emerging from this exceptionally difficult phase in a stronger state than before," Wissmann emphasized. One thing that is necessary for lasting economic growth is an efficient and powerful logistics system forming the "backbone of Germany as the world's leading export nation," said Wissmann. People's desire for individual mobility has not been put on hold and will continue to grow, he added, stating that passenger cars and trucks remain the Number One mode of transport. "It would be illusory to think that in future mobility needs are going to fall or could be reduced by politicians using prescriptive instruments," the VDA president stressed. Instead sustainable solutions had to be found for growth. At this time, however, the great insecurity surrounding investment that exists in the forwarding and logistics sector was exacerbating the already very weak demand on the commercial vehicle market.
To make it possible to emerge from the current difficult economic situation in a stronger position, the VDA president called on politicians to provide "reliable and favorable overall conditions." A transport policy that caused additional burdens running into billions to the commercial vehicle industry and its customers during the most severe economic crisis would prevent the necessary investment in new, efficient transport solutions. Instead of increasing the truck toll at the beginning of 2009, there should be rapid reconsideration of significant relief for the industry. "The top priority is to stop spiraling inflation for the companies in the transport and logistics industry by immediately postponing the toll increase for at least one year," Wissmann demanded.
Furthermore, it was worrying that according to the medium-term planning, despite the toll increases investments in trunk roads would have fallen back to below the levels of 2008 - that is, even before the toll increase - as early as 2011. "We urgently need to maintain investments in the traffic network at a level appropriate to the needs," Wissmann emphasized. And the measures planned in Brussels under "external costs" were also a cause for concern: "No one in this industry will escape the task of reducing the negative external effects of transport, that is, impact on the environment and accident figures." However, the Commission's proposal means that supposed "costs" that could not be blamed on commercial vehicles for any objective reason, would be added to the toll. This would unnecessarily prevent fast replacement of existing vehicle vehicles with modern, especially environmentally friendly ones that also fulfill the highest safety standards.
Necessary investments in new and efficient transport solutions must not be hindered any longer. At the same time, companies in the commercial vehicle industry - the majority of which are family-run SMEs, often in economically weak regions of the country - should be able to benefit from the KfW's program of loans and guarantees, and to this end at the European level funding should be made available from the European Investment Bank (EIB). Wissmann spoke out against tendencies toward protectionism, which can be observed in an increasing number of states. Mechanisms that made the international exchange of goods more difficult harmed Germany in particular as the world's largest exporting country: "A race to wall off national markets would push back the recovery of the global economy," the VDA president said.
More than 20 high-ranking experts from automotive manufacturers, suppliers, IT companies and the realms of politics, research and academia, are meeting at the eighth VDA Logistics Congress entitled "Automotive logistics: connecting people, companies, markets" to give lectures, present practical examples and solutions, and to focus the spotlight on the connecting function of logistics. In addition, the second VDA Logistics Award (after the first in 2008) will be presented in Munich.
