Status: 01/09/2023 11:26 am
At the end of 2022, truck traffic on German autobahns collapsed more than it has since the beginning of the corona pandemic. The mileage of the trucks also gives an indication of the state of the economy.
The mileage of toll trucks with at least four axles on motorways collapsed in December. Due to high levels of sick leave and days below zero, traffic fell by 4.9 percent on the previous month, adjusted for calendar and seasonal effects. This was announced by the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility (BALM) and the Federal Statistical Office.
“This is the sharpest decline since the drop in mileage in April 2020 as a result of the corona pandemic,” according to the statistics office. Compared to the same month last year, the drop was even greater at 6.1 percent.
Traffic as an economic indicator
According to the statisticians, truck mileage on motorways also provides an indication of economic development in industry. Because in Germany, by far the largest part of the goods is transported by truck – in 2021 almost ten times as much as by rail.
“There is a clear connection between regional truck toll mileage and regional sales in the manufacturing sector, especially in the industrialized countries,” says the statement. “In the city states and the less industrial states, the connection is weaker.”
According to the information, the significant decline in December 2022 is likely to be due, among other things, to the onset of winter and high levels of sick leave. In addition to Corona, the flu wave and other respiratory diseases have recently caused full clinics and many lost work days.
Big regional differences
However, the decline at the end of the year varied greatly from region to region. The biggest slump in truck toll mileage was in Lower Saxony with minus 6.5 percent compared to the previous month, followed by Bavaria (minus 5 percent), Thuringia and Saxony (each minus 4.8 percent). In Baden-Württemberg (minus 1.1 percent), Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland (each minus 1.3 percent), the decline was below average.
Cross-border traffic, i.e. the number of entries and exits across the German border, fell by 4.8 percent last month. “The sharpest decline was in cross-border trips to and from the Czech Republic,” it said. A minus of 8.3 percent was registered here. Cross-border truck traffic to and from Denmark also fell sharply by 8.1 percent.
Recession at the beginning of the year?
The German economy grew surprisingly slightly by 0.4 percent in the summer quarter of 2022, despite the energy crisis, material shortages and high inflation. However, most experts assume that it contracted slightly at the end of 2022 and could slip into recession at the beginning of 2023.
However, German industry increased its production in November by 0.2 percent compared to the previous month. The gain follows a 0.4 percent decline in October.