Transport: rail traffic in the Netherlands halted, fuel prices remain volatile

The Netherlands at a standstill: rail and port strikes create a domino effect for freight forwarders

Today’s rail paralysis in the Netherlands is not an isolated event—in industry discussions on LinkedIn, concerns about the accumulation of disruptions at Dutch logistics gateways have been growing for a week. Yuntuo International Logistics warned importers as early as 26 August about the domino effect: "Two planned labour actions in the Netherlands deserve attention from buyers with cargo moving through Dutch gateways in September (...) The bigger question is whether one disruption creates pressure on the next dependency: Port → terminal release → rail / inland transport → warehouse receiving → customer delivery" (LinkedIn).

Tradlinx wrote similarly on 31 August: "Dutch seaport workers will stop vessel handling on 4 September, followed five days later by a 24-hour transport action affecting ProRail and DB Cargo. The bigger risk may be where the first backlog meets the second disruption" (LinkedIn).

Dutch freight forwarder Van der Helm explicitly warned customers about the port strike on 4 September: "Several terminals will temporarily suspend or limit truck handling, which may lead to delays and increased congestion before and after the strike (...) We recommend taking possible waiting times and changes in truck planning into account" (LinkedIn).

And on 6 September, after the first wave of disruptions, Michel van der Linden summed up what another rail strike is confirming today: "A port strike lasts eight hours. The operational impact can last much longer (...) Because once the port reopens, the backlog doesn't disappear. Containers still need to be handled. Trucks still need to arrive. Vessels still need to be worked" (LinkedIn). This is exactly the scenario—port, then rail, then road transport—now unfolding in the Netherlands.

Fuel prices: uncertainty felt in every post

The claim that "fuel remains volatile" is being confirmed in comments from ordinary drivers. On Wykop.pl, under a news item about oil and fuel prices, user Cernold asked rhetorically: "Where and when are oil prices falling? We have a local peak and barely 2% has come off the peak..." (Wykop), while Bpnn added: "Are these falling oil prices with us in the room right now? And the fact that it is more expensive than it should be..." (Wykop).

The same scepticism towards announcements about "cheaper fuel" can be seen under short videos about prices at the pump. Under a video posted by the Marcin Kuzmak channel on 3 September, user @Nauthiz1988 commented directly on how much they actually pay at the station: "Where do you have that price? I filled up yesterday for 8.64" (YouTube).

On Reddit, under a news item about record diesel prices in the context of the wars in Iran and Ukraine, an industry voice kept a cool head—BobaTeaFetish from r/supplychain noted: "I feel this is a little mislead, inflation adjusted it's still below the high of 2022 and 2008. Still not great, and definitely squeezing my freight charge budget, but it has definitely been worse" (Reddit).

Drivers are in short supply, and rate mathematics does not lie

A thread from a month ago (10 August), still actively receiving comments, clearly shows why rates and the driver shortage are back on the agenda every week. Lovro Herga cited IRU data: Europe has around 502,000 unfilled driver positions, and two-thirds of carriers are rejecting transport orders due to a lack of staff (LinkedIn).

Under the post, Chris Condon challenged the very notion of a "shortage": "I wonder if this is partly being framed as a labor shortage when it is really a willingness-to-pay gap. An unfilled position does not necessarily mean the labor does not exist" (LinkedIn).

The strongest voice, however, belonged to Fricatel Roman, who broke the rate down into its component parts: "A driver on €3,000 net costs the company over €4,000/month with taxes and employer costs → around €0.40/km at 10,000 km (...) Diesel at 27 l/100 km is around €0.41/km net. Road tolls average around €0.25/km (...) That gives: €0.40 driver + €0.17 truck + €0.41 fuel + €0.25 tolls + €0.05 other costs = ~€1.28/km (...) So when the market expects carriers to work for €1.30/km, the question is simple: Where is the sustainable profit?" (LinkedIn).

Marko Zivojinovic added a comment on the real source of the problem: "Drivers earnings are standing still and working conditions are not improving. On top of that drivers are not respected. As long as drivers are treated as dots on screen new people are not going to be attracted to transport industry" (LinkedIn).

DSV absorbs Schenker—the industry comments on the merger of the century

The liveliest discussion of recent days (a post from 7 September) was triggered by an analysis of the integration of DSV and DB Schenker in road transport—the network is expected to shrink from around 400 to 270 terminals, while more than 20 different IT systems are to be replaced by a single TMS (LinkedIn).

Raoul Gelmers accurately captured the cultural risk of the merger: "Schenker has always felt quite personal in the way they work with customers, while DSV seems much more driven by scale, standardisation, efficiency and price discipline (...) It is a bit like merging a red political party with a blue one and expecting everyone to wake up purple the next morning" (LinkedIn).

Theodor Dragoi asked about the article’s narrative itself: "despite the complexity clearly described, how do you see the link between the opening statement about 'struggles' and what follows; namely, bringing the advanced integration timeline forward from 2028 to 2026, while 60 countries are already fully integrated? To me, that doesn't really sound like a struggle" (LinkedIn). Tod Willman, who worked for BAX Global, was more sceptical: "I'm not sure DSV knew what they were in for when they acquired DB Schenker. Basically, an NVOCC with a boatload of customer service problems" (LinkedIn).

ADR and regulations through practitioners’ eyes

A practical discussion took place on r/logistics about transporting dangerous substances when moving from the UK to Poland (acetone, solvents and spray paints). The expert voice of TheOracle6969, who works in the road, air and sea transport of dangerous goods, was specific: "I work for a small cargo company and I do air road and sea freight, aswell as Hazardous goods packing. I am road DG trained and IATA air freight hazardous trained to repack and produce DGN's" (Reddit).

In the same thread, Polish ADR adviser mustbehate offered direct assistance: "Hi, I'm a dangerous goods transport advisor from Poland - if you'd like, I can help you out via private message in exchange for the proverbial bottle of wine :)" (Reddit)—a light-hearted tone, but one that shows access to practical ADR expertise still often happens informally, through personal contacts.

Freight exchange: who pays how much per kilometre

In the Polish industry group "Transport Spedycja Logistyka" on Facebook, specific rates appear every day, with no beating around the bush. On 8 September, someone offered a regular domestic route: "I will guide carriers around the country [...] rates of 4.5 - 5.25 per km, 2300/2200 km per week. [...] we don't use the freight exchange, work straight from the source :)" (Facebook)—the declared avoidance of the freight exchange and working "straight from the source" are recurring themes in the group, alongside daily advertisements seeking carriers for international routes.

In a broader European context, William Beguerie summed up market sentiment: "Road freight transport is expected to register moderate growth in 2026, particularly if the improvement in the economic situation in Germany materialises. At the same time, the supply of transport remains under control and the pressure on costs is significant, which limits the impact of low volumes on the evolution of freight rates" (LinkedIn).

Drivers on drivers

The industry is about more than rates. Yesterday (8 September), the Facebook page "Transportowcy Polska" published a parable about a "prudent driver", which received 28 reactions: "There are no perfect drivers. There are only those who think before they brake (...) Don't seek glory in how many people you overtook. Seek glory in how many situations you avoided" (Facebook). This type of content—humour and reflection on the profession—regularly generates more reactions than dry rate announcements, which in itself says something about what drivers look for on social media between trips.

The day’s sentiment

Sentiment in the TSL industry is mixed today, but not without a sense of déjà vu: the accumulation of disruptions in the Netherlands (ports, rail and DB Cargo) is being described as a textbook example of a domino effect in the supply chain, rather than a surprise. Fuel prices are provoking fatigue and scepticism towards official announcements about "declines", both among drivers and freight forwarders calculating freight budgets. The most matter-of-fact—and simultaneously most worrying—tone appears in the discussion about rates and staffing shortages: figures presented by practitioners show margins so thin that the question "where is the sustainable profit here?" is being asked directly and bluntly. The DSV–Schenker merger, meanwhile, is being treated as a sign of further market consolidation, watched with a mixture of admiration for the scale of the project and scepticism about the organisational culture.

Sources unavailable today: Hacker News (no hits on European road transport in recent days), EU driver forums—trucker-forum.at, forotransportistas.es, foros24h.com, forum.soferdetir.ro, planet-truck.fr (empty or inactive threads in the sections searched).