Projected price increase for road transport in 2024

31 October 2023

It is October, which brings the release of the yearly road transport cost trends report. It clearly shows that the Climate Agreement and investments in sustainability are playing an increasing role in our industry. Together with the new collective labour agreement negotiations, these are the main drivers for expected price increases in 2024.

The new report for 2024

Panteia, TLN and Evofenedex once again joined forces to release the annual cost development report in early October. It contains important information for carriers and forwarders. Estimated cost rates for road transport in 2024 are of course the main topic. But the report addresses many other current issues.

These included the new collective labour agreement negotiations, the planned excise tax increase, tightness in labour markets and the increasingly important issue of sustainability. Together with last year’s results and calculations, they represent the main issues. We would like to explain some of these to you in more detail.

New collective labour agreement negotiations

CLA negotiations restarted after Prince’s Day in the Netherlands. Last year, it was agreed to grant higher wage demands. Given inflation in 2022 and relatively low salaries in the transportation industry, the unions said this was essential. However, many substantive issues have been pushed forward to the 2024 negotiations.

And a clear picture emerges from those substantive requirements. Elimination of graduated breaks and waiting days, the option of working from home for those who are not at the wheel, and the systematic prevention of overtime are some of the points for discussion. Furthermore, a hefty wage demand of 10% has been lodged again this year and unions FNV and CNV would like to see automatic price compensation.

Sustainable transportation increasingly important

Our industry also has a lot of work to do when it comes to sustainability. Especially given the ambitious climate goals previously set by the government in the ‘European Green Deals’. But we are already seeing a great deal of effort. For example, quite a few zero-emission vehicles have already been purchased and more and more charging stations for heavy goods vehicles are being realized. And very recently yet another increase in the MAUT toll was announced, the proceeds of which will be invested in sustainability.

We will see greater awareness on this next year. By 2024, more and more companies will be required to record their carbon emissions. To do this, however, it is important that parties know exactly what they are emitting. Did you know that with Ritra Cargo’s online supply chain platform TRACOS you can see at a glance what the CO2 emissions are for your transportation? That’ll come in really handy when you need to comply with future CSRD requirements! You simply sign up here to create your own account.

Expected 2024 price increases

Based on all observable and available information at the time of writing, the forecast for 2024 is as follows:

* Domestic road transport pallet                 +4.7 – 5.0 %

* Domestic road transport containers        +3.9 – 4.1%

* Source: Report by Panteia on Cost Trends in Road Transport 2023–2024