Another EU Law

A meeting concluded at the EU yesterday, with member states attending in the form of their Transport Ministers...and reaching a fairly dramatic agreement that involves truck drivers.

I'll reference ARD (German public TV, Channel One) for most of this story.

First, if you go around Europe and notice trucking procedures.....most all drivers will sleep over in their vehicle in the cabin behind the driver's seat.  There's a general routine....five to ten days on the road (sleeping in the cabin) and then you return home for two to four days of off-time.

Well....the EU regulation now says that overnight stays in cabins will no longer be allowed.  The freight company will be forced to provide a situation either in a hotel, guesthouse, or rented apartment.

Second, the EU now says that equal pay for equal work in the same place is mandatory.  The hint here.....it used to be that if you drove for a German trucking company.....you made x-amount, and if you drove for a Polish company.....it might be x-amount-minus-10-percent.  So they are basically saying everyone's pay level for trucking.....is level.

Third, the EU mandated that you can only drive for a maximum of four weeks at a time, then you have to return to your home-town and take a break (it's not specified to the length of the break but one might assume it's a minimum of seven days for a full month of work.

So, what does this all bring?  I would make three observations:

1.  A massive upswing on freight-shipping costs will occur as these rules are implemented.  It won't surprise me if it's a 30-percent increase in costs.  Consumers across the continent will question how this occurred and voice some frustration at what the EU did.

2.  Is there any hotel situations or rentable apartments existing anywhere in Germany along the major autobahns....designed for truckers?  Basically no.  You will find a handful of hotels for private car drivers.....but the type of hotels that the EU are suggesting here....which would have to go into the thousands....don't exist.  Rental apartments?  No....they don't exist like this either. 

I will admit that they could go and create a cube-like hotel situation (cheaply) along German autobahns, but it'll require a significant amount of space for trucks to park, some security so vehicles won't be robbed, and investment money from someone.

3.  This equal pay deal....would be a boom for the lesser countries in the EU.  You might see more people wanting to be freight drivers. 

But I'll end this commentary with this....just because the EU mandated something....doesn't mean that it'll just magically happen.  In this case, I doubt if the hotel idea becomes reality for at least ten years....maybe even fifteen years.