An investigation conducted with the participation of major Swedish news outlets claims to uncovered evidence showing hundreds of HGVs are consistently conducting illegal cabotage transports in Sweden.
According to TV4 and SVT, who both participated in the investigation, researchers monitored the movements of thousands of foreign-registered trucks operating in the country. Both TV channels say the results show that hundreds of vehicles break cabotage rules every day.
The report states that several large companies, including the likes of Postnord and DHL, have hired carriers who have been fined for violating road transport rules.
The investigators concluded that the amount of checks on cabotage are too infrequent. This means that there is little deterrent, as the profit from the extra transport will generally cover any losses incurred from the odd financial penalty.
Henrik Sternberg, logistics researcher at Iowa State University, estimates that the Swedish Government is losing almost 30 million euros in tax revenue as result of illegal cabotage:
This is a serious problem because it means more emissions to the environment because these vehicles emit more. Then there is lost tax revenue, what we saw in the latest study is SEK 300 million in lost tax revenue.
Stemberg was also quoted as saying that he had met drivers who spend 2-3 months on the road sleeping in their cabs. Moreover, the logistics researcher believes that a 2018 bill introduced to make customers more responsible for the carriers they use has been ineffective as it is written in a vague manner.
According to Roger Ogemar, commercial vehicle inspector from the Västerås police department, more unauthorized foreign transports are being detected in Sweden than ever before. He says that a lack of customer responsibility is one of the reasons for the trend:
Freight forwarders often hire the cheapest carrier. If you can get carriers from low-wage countries, it is of course cheaper than a Swedish haulier. The customer responsibility is pretty toothless.
Farid Umeflod, group manager at the traffic police in Helsingborg, has observed similar. He claims that officers “stop large players every week”.
In response to the bombshell dropped by the investigation, the Swedish Transport Workers’ Union has urged the Swedish Government to introduce a new authority for controlling road transport.
Last year, both Postnord and DHL were accused of using hauliers who had conducted illegal cabotage.
Agnes Karlsson, Postnord’s Production Director, has seemingly expressed regret over the occasions in which they had used carriers who had broken cabotage rules. He is quoted as saying the company “will act and take responsibility”.
On the other hand, Robert Zander, CEO of DHL Freight Sweden, has made no such admission, telling SVT that the regulations are unclear:
We do not want to be a part of anything that is contrary to laws and regulations. But at the same time we try to make an efficient and rational logistics transport. As we see it, it is not clear what the regulations say.
Photo credit: Stockholms trafikpolis