News: December 2009

Facts and Figures on Trucking in Europe

- Trucks give you the freedom to live wherever you want:

From small isolated villages to bustling metropolises, people rely on trucks to bring them the goods they need. Trucks are the only way to reach most of Europe’s hundreds of thousands of stores, restaurants, factories and homes.

Trucks carry your TV and computer, your swimming suit, your toothpaste, your medicine, the toys for your children, your fruits and vegetables and the materials to build your house – all along the production chain, to your local store and doorstep.

- Trucks deliver nearly 75% of all goods in Europe:

Why are trucks the number one transport choice for most businesses?

Because they are highly reliable and provide a very flexible service. Trucks can go anywhere in Europe and are the only transport mode that can carry goods from door to door. This is why nearly 75% of the volume and 90% of the value of all goods in Europe are transported by truck.

- Over 6 million jobs in Europe depend directly on trucks:

Almost 3 million people work directly for the trucking industry: drivers, logistics experts, dispatchers, operations managers, etc.

Another 3.5 million people earn their living in directly related industries, such as truck manufacturing, repairing, selling, leasing and insuring. Even those figures do not give the full picture, because jobs that depend on the trucking industry are far more numerous than those related directly to it. Almost every business needs trucking services to operate efficiently.

Trucks keep business competitive and people employed.

- Trucks in Europe pay over 100 billion Euros per year in taxes:

Trucks are taxed in a variety of ways. There are fuel taxes, vehicle ownership taxes, road user fees and highway tolls and other road freight transport-related levies. The amount of tax paid by trucking companies is significantly more than what governments allocate to highway construction or infrastructure maintenance.

In fact, all road vehicles, including trucks, pay more than twice as much in taxes and tolls than is spent to build and maintain the road transport infrastructure.

- 25 modern trucks make no more noise than one built in 1980:

Technological innovations such as special insulation, the introduction of low rolling resistance tyres and other noisecontrol techniques applied at source have significantly reduced noise levels compared to 1980, making today’s trucks quieter than ever!

Further reductions can be achieved if, for example, infrastructure managers ensure the use of low rolling resistant surfaces on roads.

Volvo Trucks: New function in Dynafleet

Volvo Trucks’ web-based system for transport information, Dynafleet, is now being expanded with yet another function designed to make life easier for drivers and haulage companies alike. Tachograph Download ensures that all information from the digital tachograph is automatically transferred via the Internet to the transport manager.

"With Tachograph Download the haulage firm always has access to up-to-date information about driver times and the way the truck is being driven," says Pascal Claes, product manager of Dynafleet at Volvo Trucks. "All information is continuously saved and then stored for a predetermined period of time on the haulage firm's private space on the Dynafleet server. This reduces the need for administration and makes it easier to meet legislative requirements."

Russia: AvtoVAZ returns to full-time working

Russia's largest carmaker AvtoVAZ has returned to a full work week for the first time in three months.

The company introduced shortened work weeks in September, having employees work 20 hours per week and paying wages only for the time they worked.

AvtoVAZ has told the Russia Prime-Tass news agency that employees had now returned to full time working.

This follows agreement late last week on a plan to restructure the Russian carmaker's debt, shift some of its labour costs and revive its aging product lineup. A deal with 25% shareholder Renault will enable AvtoVAZ's Togliatti plant to produce 900,000 Lada, Renault and Nissan vehicles annually by 2015.

Renault will contribute EUR240m ($360m) in the form of technology, production equipment and expertise to build new vehicles based on its low-cost Logan plat­form. Renault also will help AvtoVAZ expand its powertrain production capacity and develop an entry-level vehicle.