The road freight transport sector is experiencing unprecedented turbulence, caught between structurally rising operating costs and declining volumes of goods transported. In this already tense economic landscape, the announcement of new local tax measures is seen as a genuine provocation by industry professionals. Anger is rising particularly strongly in Alsace and, more broadly, throughout the Grand Est region. Freight companies, already weakened by soaring fuel prices and rising maintenance costs, fear that future regional decisions will definitively jeopardize their profitability.
At the heart of the turmoil are two major projects slated for deployment by 2027: the R-Pass system in the Alsace region and the Heavy Goods Vehicle Eco-Contribution across the region. Originally intended to finance the ecological transition and road network maintenance, these kilometer-based charges risk crippling the cash flow of local businesses unable to pass these additional costs on to their customers. By subjecting road traffic to a specific tax, regional authorities risk weakening a fundamental link in the economy at the very moment when the industry's financial health is most precarious.
For the National Federation of Road Transport (FNTR), enough is enough. The employers' organization is taking a stand to demand an immediate freeze on these tax reforms, denouncing a glaring disconnect between the technocratic ambitions of political decision-makers and the operational realities on the ground. If nothing is done, these additional taxes will inevitably undermine the competitiveness of regional carriers compared to their rivals in neighboring departments or countries. Faced with what it describes as a threat to the long-term viability of an entire sector, the FNTR is calling on all logistics stakeholders to gather en masse on October 15th in front of the regional council building in Strasbourg to voice their demands and secure the opening of genuine negotiations.