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Truckers and farmers block Belgian border to end spy-in-the-cab tax

TRUCKERS and farmers blocked Belgium's border crossings to protest a heavy truck tax that they say will add eight per cent to operating costs, reports Lloyd's Loading List.

The tax is levied on all heavy goods vehicles of 3.5 tonnes or more at a variable rate from around EUR0.07/kilometre (US$0.08) to EUR0.30/kilometre.

It follows similar action yesterday and on 1 April - when the scheme took effect - leading French haulage trade body Federation Nationale des Transports Routiers (FNTR) to call for a one-month suspension of the scheme to sort out the current difficulties.

Big trucks on Belgian roads must have an On Board Unit (OBU), which require a deposit of EUR135. This enables trucks to be tracked via a satellite system and the tax to be levied. Hauliers face a fine of EUR1,000 for non-compliance.

However, the satellite system has reportedly been dogged by technical difficulties, causing the OBUs to malfunction.

Belgian truckers group Federation Royale Belge des Transporteurs et des Prestataires de Services Logistiques (Febetra) said that at a time of reduced margins in the sector, its members would have to pass on the tax to shippers and regretted the fact that the scheme did not make provision for this to be done automatically.

America's Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is going to court to end electronic monitoring of trucks because it violates "rights against unreasonable search and seizure", reports the American Journal of Transportation.

The OOIDA filed its case in the US Court of Appeals in Chicago to void a new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rule that requires interstate truckers to install electronic logging devices (ELDs) in their vehicles.

"Crisis talks" between Febetra and state officials had been limited to discussing the technical difficulties the scheme had encountered and not the tax itself.

In his quarterly rates review article published last week in Lloyd's Loading List, Freightex CEO Tim Phillips said the new motorway tolls in Belgium were likely to push up European road freight prices.

Mr Phillips expected increases of between EUR30 and EUR60 on UK import movements and rises of between EUR15 and EUR30 on exports, depending on the distance of the routes through Belgium.

"Despite low levels of haulier readiness, Belgium has pressed ahead today with the introduction of new road tolls," he said.

"These will add significant new toll costs to roads that carry the majority of all road freight in and out of the UK and that were previously free to use.

"Belgian authorities appear to be taking a light touch on enforcement at the moment - drivers who have the Viapass OBU in their cab are not being fined, even if the OBU has not been fully activated - but we expect full enforcement within a couple weeks," Mr Phillips said.