Dutch trucks frequently cross the border. Dutch hauliers are second only to Poland in the number of border crossings, CBS figures show. Cross-border trips by Dutch trucks account for over 13 per cent of all European transport.
Polish truck drivers account for about 18 per cent of border crossings. Dutch trucks visited foreign countries 7.4 million times. Germany and Belgium were the favourite destinations in this regard followed by France and Britain. Over 80 per cent of trips abroad went to our eastern and southern neighbours.
Research
CBS writes of its own research, "European road hauliers made an average of 158 thousand international cargo trips daily in 2014, crossing one or more European borders. Dutch road hauliers drove more than 13 per cent of these trips: 21 thousand. Only Polish truckers made more international trips per day: 28 thousand." Despite sounding far abroad, the trips were often not very long. "Dutch trucks driving internationally cover relatively short distances. Of the trips from the Netherlands, over 60 per cent did not go further than 300 kilometres. For three in 10 international trips, the trip distance was less than 150 kilometres."
Border checks
If the borders in the Schengen area are closed again, this would cause a lot of inconvenience for Dutch hauliers. In addition, this additional delay is going to cost a lot of money. European problems with refugees are already causing extra checks and delays. Sector organisations TLN and EVO are thus already pleading for an arrangement whereby trucks are allowed to drive through and thus want to have talks with the government soon.
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