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Studies show that the cost of road transport has increased significantly more compared to rail and sea transport

The first-ever European Logistics Cost Index for finished vehicles, developed by the European Transport Logistics Association (ECG) and PwC Austria, showed that the cost of transporting goods by road in Europe has increased significantly more than by sea or rail.

The authors of the index say that their goal is to:

-to ensure transparency regarding the development of costs in a specific industry

-contribute to the development of a standard for the wider field of logistics in Europe

The study is divided into four segments of logistics:

-automobile

-marine

-railway

-complexes

In eight European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Great Britain).

Based on relevant FVL cost factors for the logistics segment, selected countries and representative data sources, the FVL cost index is 153.9. This shows that from January 2019 to September 2022, spending increased by 53.9%.

The following results were obtained for the four segments:

1) Road Logistics Segment: The FVL road cost index is 132.8, showing an overall increase in costs of 32.8% between January 2019 and September 2022.

-a widespread and highly impactful shortage of heavy truck drivers across Europe

-increase in drivers’ wages

-a high increase in diesel prices, which increased by an average of 69% during the first seven months of 2022

2)Marine Logistics Segment: The FVL Marine Cost Index is 213.7, showing an overall increase in costs of 113.7% between January 2019 and September 2022.

Such a significant increase in costs in the marine segment is mostly caused by:

– narrow carriage of cars and trucks (The situation in the market of supply and demand (PCTC) has led to record high rental rates for PCTC vessels, as well as a constant increase in the asset value of new PCTC vessels.

3)Rail in the logistics segment: The FVL Rail Cost Index is 124.2, showing an overall increase in costs of 24.2% between January 2019 and September 2022.

Other factors include:

-salary expenses

-FVL’s fuel and rail assets have strongly impacted changes in rail costs.

4)Logistics Segment Components: The FVL Compounds Cost Index is 121.4, indicating an overall increase in costs of 21.4% between January 2019 and September 2022.

These cost changes are largely due to:

– with complex land costs

– labor force, which are among the factors often associated with the consumer price index (CPI), and therefore showed high levels of volatility during the period under study.

As the research and the points above show, the cost of road transport has increased more than twice as much as sea transport, and 9.6% more than rail transport.