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Published on 13/12/2024
Hello again.
More info about Danish road tax 🚚
More reports have come in from the carriers and there are now representative quantity. We can now reveal the first figures on its impact.
This is only based on written statements from the carriers.
We have calculated the impact of road tax on national road transport, international road transport and parcel distribution.
All figures are calculated based on an average company that buys freight for one million DKK annually
Road tax on national road transport
In national transport, we see that carriers are using Very different models.
Some work with a percentage, while others calculate per 100kg and have both minimum and maximum prices.
It also varies whether the carriers have zoning or whether all of Denmark is under the same zone.
Effect:
- With the different models, the toll will provide a cost increase of between 5.8% and 12%.
- This means that if you buy freight for DKK 1 million, it will mean an extra cost of Between 58,000 and 120,000 DKK annually.
International road transport
In international road transport there are Broad consensus that road tax should be a price per 100kg with minimum and maximum prices.
The biggest difference from carrier to carrier is whether destinations are divided into zones per country or into multiple zones within the same country - as we know from the German Maut.
Effect:
- Cost increase of between 3.2% and 5.6%.
- For an annual freight budget of DKK 1 million, this corresponds to between 32,000 to 56,000 kr.
Parcel distribution
On parcel distribution there are great variety in the way they settle for Danish Road Tax. Some carriers have announced that the road tax will be a fixed surcharge per parcel, while others charge a percentage.
With some carriers, it can also be included in the oil surcharge (energy surcharge). Instead, they will increase the oil surcharge directly, so that it increases by, for example, 2 %.
Effect:
- The surcharge will be between €0.36 and €0.53 per pack.
- For a company that ships 100,000 parcels annually, this means Additional costs of 36,000 to 53,000 DKK.
Oil surcharge of Danish Road Tax
With the above figures we have Assumed that hauliers do not settle oil from the road tax. Several hauliers have explicitly mentioned that no oil is settled from the road tax, and we have assumed that this will be the norm in the future.
Biggest effect for smaller shipments
Where we see that the road tax levy will have the greatest impact is especially on smaller consignments such as Half pallets, quarter pallets and single pallets. This is because many carriers have a minimum price.
For example, a minimum price could be £17, and if your shipping price is only £100, that's £17 on top of the minimum price. That's an extra 17 % instead of maybe 5-12%.
If you send a lot of small consignments, road tax can quickly become a heavy extra cost due to minimum rates.
Danish Road Tax as a competitive parameter
The large differences in how hauliers calculate road tax and percentage surcharges mean that road tax suddenly becomes a competitive parameter.
In our view, this is problematic because the tax "should" be more or less uniform.
Part of the reason is that road tax also depends on the location of hauliers.
Example: A haulier in Herning needs to pick up goods in Aalborg and deliver them in Skagen. The road toll must be calculated for the entire distance, but who pays for the distance from Herning to Aalborg? Because those costs must also be included.
It is therefore important to say that it's not the carriers' fault. The complexity is that road tax is calculated based on kilometres, while carriers always charge according to, for example, pallets, cbm, ldm or kg.
Converting distance to volume is therefore a difficult calculation as there are so many factors involved.
It was a slightly longer infomail this time round, but I hope it works out.
If you haven't read our Previous email about price increasesI would recommend it. Because it's not just tolls that are driving up freight costs right now - there are many other factors as well.
So pay attention to that in the new year. We recommend that in Q1 you compare prices, throwing all the balls up and making sure you compare apples to apples.
Because with a road tax of 5% at one, but 12% at another, there is suddenly a big differentiation on your bottom line. And then you might be paying too much.
I will return with a update on road tax in the new yearwhen we get the first invoices loaded. Here we will also confirm if anyone is settling oil from the surcharge.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions
Otherwise, see you in the new year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from here! 🎄
Sincerely yours
André Lundberg
CEO & Co-Founder