With the start of the German outdoor vegetable harvest, the orders for freight forwarders are gradually increasing. "We are currently transporting good quantities of regional asparagus from Nienburg and vegetables from the Palatinate, such as radishes, lettuce, and the like. The start of the outdoor vegetable harvest in northern Germany is also not far off," reports Jens Krause (right), managing director of the freight forwarding company of the same name based in Celle (Lower Saxony). In general, volatility in fruit and vegetable transport has increased. "The lack of predictability in some cases and the sharp ups and downs are a constant challenge. We are constantly juggling low and very high volumes. There are phases when we have to maintain cost-intensive excess capacity, which is necessary, for example, to reliably cope with a short Holy Week in terms of both volume and the required quality."
Cost pressure and staff shortages
The latest toll increase on December 1, 2023, has also had a noticeable impact. "In groupage transport in particular, we cannot always pass on the increased costs in full to the parties responsible. If capacity utilization targets are not met or volumes shift, the necessary contribution margins are quickly lost. Nevertheless, we have found a practical middle ground here, which we are continuously optimizing. In the future, CO2 pricing, EU emissions trading, and the minimum wage will bring further direct and indirect additional burdens that will have to be assessed and priced in from a business perspective. It remains to be seen what measures the new government will actually decide on and, above all, how it will implement them. In the past, it was not uncommon for decisions that had already been made to be changed or adjusted again," says Krause.
In contrast to classic seasonal items, so-called dry goods form a solid basis. Krause: "Thanks to longer shelf lives and durability, we gain predictability and have a reliable base quantity." He also reports steady growth in blueberries, which are sourced seasonally from the Lüneburg Heath.
Another issue is the constant staff shortage; the freight forwarder continues. According to him, people often mistakenly refer exclusively to a shortage of drivers. "However, the problem is widespread: from qualified warehouse staff to dispatchers and workshop employees, it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit applicants with the level of commitment required in the fruit and vegetable industry. Weekend work is a perennial issue, especially since weekends are among the busiest days in our industry. I dare say that the situation will continue to worsen. Media discussions about working from home and four-day weeks are further fueling the fire." The company currently employs 14 warehouse employees and also works with a permanent service partner.
The company's vehicle fleet comprises around 60 refrigerated trailers. The fleet grows slightly every year.
Lack of a secondary market for used vehicles
Alternative drive technologies are needed to meet the growing demand for sustainable refrigerated logistics in the future. "In my view, HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oils) is currently an alternative worth considering for our current transport operations and existing infrastructure. We are closely and impartially monitoring all alternative drive types, such as electric, LNG, hydrogen, and HVO. As things stand today, I assume that it will ultimately come down to a combination of several solutions, depending on whether you are involved in short-distance, long-distance, or regular transport, for example."
Krause cites the secondary market for his used vehicles as another important point: "As things stand at present, I find it difficult to imagine where we could market a discarded electric truck or converted LNG truck. Our customer base for used vehicles, which we have built up over many years, is currently showing no interest in such models. This market will certainly evolve over time, but we believe that a fundamental adjustment of our calculations in terms of useful life and residual value would be necessary. This might even require a complete reorientation of financing models, for example, toward fixed residual values. For such far-reaching decisions, we first need a clear—and above all consistent—political course," Krause concludes.
For more information:
Jens Krause
Jens Krause Spedition GmbH & Co. KG
Karl-Schiller-Str. 8
29225 Celle / Germany
+49 (0) 5141 - 977267-0
[email protected]
www.krause-spedition.de