Road freight sector sees the light at the end of the tunnel

Meier adds: "Some countries are investing heavily in logistics. Poland is expanding its contract logistics, for example. But the second wave of new member states could take 10 years to develop."

Border problems

And as the EU expands, it will still have borders, creating problems for anyone wishing to cross them. Waiting times between Estonia and Russia can reach 88 hours and there have been reports of a 35hour wait between Poland and Ukraine.

Some hauliers get caught on the southern border, around Macedonia, but the average waiting time there is, says the IRU, just one or two hours.

All hauliers, whether crossing the EU border or not, will have more to think about over the next couple of years with the introduction of further EU legislation.

The Euro Vignette, proposed by the European Parliament in 2008, could be resurrected by the EU’s new (Belgian) president. This lays down rules under which member states can introduce road user charges to cover the cost of infrastructure.

"We think the charges should apply to all modes of transport, not just road, " Billiet says. "And revenue gained from road users should be earmarked for road freight.

"But even more important is the debate on whether congestion-related costs are deemed ’internal’ [to a country] or ’external’. Internal costs cannot be levied on road users, external ones can.

"The Dutch, Belgians, Swedes and Danes already have Euro Vignettes. The Dutch government wants to move this to distance-based user-charging by 2012 - initially for heavy goods vehicles and then for all road users."

Under consideration

New environmental legislation under consideration would see CO 2standards applied to light commercial vehicles, while Euro 6 standards, aimed at reducing toxic emissions, becomes law in 2014.

Finally, the European Commission has begun consultation on a new white paper which sets out transport policy up to 2020, with the environment and customer service taking centre stage.

"This will be an important cornerstone of what is expected from the road sector over the next 10 years, " Billiet says.

As hauliers struggle to survive and address the changing needs of today’s market, 2014 and 2020 may seem a long way off. But hauliers ignore the EU at their peril, for, ultimately, its policies may have as significant an impact on European road freight as the recession does today.