In Finland, carriers refuse trips due to diesel prices — YLE News
In Finland, some transport companies are not carrying out agreed shipments due to the sharp rise in diesel fuel prices and the unprofitability of trips. This was reported by YLE News, citing Anssi Kujala, CEO of the SKAL transport companies association.
According to him, businesses are forced to assess whether their operations remain profitable. In the spring, 10% of respondents in a SKAL survey said they were considering stopping trips if they became loss-making.
The most expensive diesel fuel in the EU
The retail price of diesel in Finland stood at more than €2.5 per litre. According to SKAL calculations, fuel has risen in price by approximately 60 cents per litre since the beginning of July. The association noted that diesel costs more nowhere else in the European Union.
Entrepreneur Antti Nousiainen, who runs the transport company E. Nousiainen in Loimaa, said that the increase in diesel prices could raise his business's annual costs by hundreds of thousands of euros. The company specializes in timber transportation, has around 30 permanent employees, and spends approximately €2.5 million on fuel annually — 30% of its turnover.
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Fuel clauses in contracts
E. Nousiainen has provisions in its contracts that allow payments to be adjusted depending on fuel costs. According to Nousiainen, such mechanisms work relatively well in the forestry industry, although price revisions occur with a delay.
Kujala said that approximately half of transport companies have comprehensive fuel cost provisions in their contracts. Another roughly one-quarter apply them only to some contracts, while the rest have no such terms at all. Such provisions began to spread after the sharp jump in fuel prices.
Janne Ohvo, CEO of Power Logistics, whose company specializes in air cargo, said that even the presence of fuel clauses in contracts does not always protect businesses: prices can change so quickly that carriers do not have time to adjust their rates. At the same time, E. Nousiainen is investing in biogas trucks: their fuel is cheaper than diesel, but the vehicles themselves are approximately one-quarter more expensive.
