Transport: Fréjus closed, ADR changes in 2027
Freight planning across the Alps now requires adjustments due to overnight closures of the Fréjus Tunnel, while rail operators are expanding services between Germany, Switzerland and Italy. At the same time, the EU has launched the procedure for implementing ADR/ADN changes from 2027, and declining air e-commerce volumes from Hong Kong are reshaping demand around European hubs.
Prepared by the CargoNice editorial team with AI support, based on the sources listed and CargoNice's own market data. Machine translation of the Polish original. Editorial policy · Read the Polish original
- 1,99 EUR/kmPoland–Germany spot rate
- 1,56 EUR/kmGermany–Poland spot rate
- 2 232,00 EUR/1000LDiesel in Germany
- -30% r/rHong Kong–Europe air cargo
The market today in figures (CargoNice data)
The Orlen diesel price was 7,05 PLN/l on 8 September 2026, up 0,02 PLN/l from the previous reading. In Poland, the wholesale diesel price reached 1 669,36 EUR/1000L on 31 August 2026, compared with 2 232,00 EUR/1000L in Germany on the same day. The EU average was 2 039,15 EUR/1000L on 31 August 2026.
On the freight rate market, the model Germany–Poland rate reached 1,56 EUR/km on 7 September 2026, while the Poland–Germany rate stood at 1,99 EUR/km. The latter rate fell by 0,18 EUR/km from the previous reading, indicating a lower reference level when pricing haulage in this direction. The utilisation index for Germany’s tolled roads was 94,7 pts (2021=100) on 29 August 2026.
ADR and ADN: the EU prepares changes for 2027
On 7 September, the European Commission presented a draft EU position on amendments to the annexes to the ADR and ADN agreements. The changes concern the carriage of dangerous goods by road and inland waterways and are due to be discussed by the EU working group on land transport on 8 September.
According to the draft, the new rules will become binding on the parties to the agreements from 1 January 2027, unless they are rejected under the prescribed procedure by 1 October 2026. Since the ADR and ADN annexes are incorporated into EU law through Directive 2008/68/EC, the impact will cover domestic and international haulage within the Union.
For operators and contracting parties, this is not yet the time to change operational documentation, but rather to review contractual assumptions. In particular, it is worth monitoring the final scope of requirements concerning equipment, documents and the organisation of ADR transport.
Source: European Commission Source: Council of the EU
More rail services between Germany, Switzerland and Italy
Kombiverkehr has immediately increased the frequency of its Cologne–Basel service from three to five round trips per week. The additional capacity is intended to increase shipment flexibility amid low water levels on the Rhine.
From 8 September, the operator is also launching two weekly services on the Regensburg–Verona route. Semi-trailers, swap bodies and tank containers are accepted via the Regensburg terminal. The network has also added two weekly Duisburg–Malmö services from 2 September, while the Neuss–Barcelona route is planned to start on 5 October.
The expanded services provide an alternative to road capacity on German–Swiss and German–Italian routes. However, the pricing team should check the availability of pre-carriage and on-carriage, terminal cut-off times and the compatibility of loading units with the specific service.
Fréjus: two nights without traffic between France and Italy
The Fréjus road tunnel on the France–Italy corridor will be completely closed from 22:00 to 06:00 on the nights of 7–8 September and 8–9 September. These are the longest closures listed in the September maintenance schedule.
The other announced interruptions are generally shorter, lasting 45 minutes. The operator states that the second tunnel tube remains open, so standard works outside the longer closures should not normally require shuttle traffic.
For overnight haulage, the key measures are to reschedule departures, reconfirm delivery time slots and plan a stop that complies with the driver’s working time. The risk is not limited to the tunnel itself: the altered traffic pattern may affect available capacity on other Alpine routes.
Hong Kong air e-commerce weakens in Europe
Air cargo tonnage from Hong Kong to Europe was 30% lower year on year in August and 24% lower than in June. WorldACD links the decline to the EU’s discontinuation on 1 July of the de minimis exemption for imports valued below 150 EUR.
On the mainland China–Europe route, volumes declined by 5% year on year, while combined tonnage from China and Hong Kong to Europe fell by 14%. The average spot air freight rate from China and Hong Kong to Europe was 4,34 USD/kg in August, around 17% below the level recorded in May and June.
The change is significant for companies handling airport pre-carriage, customs clearance, warehousing and the injection of shipments into courier networks. Lower volumes may alter demand for contracted road services serving European air freight hubs, while different import conditions may affect route selection and fulfilment models.
In brief
- Sweden–Italy by rail: From the first week of October, Nurminen Logistics will increase the number of departures of its Frövi–Castelguelfo block train to two per week. The service has a declared rail transit time of approximately 2.5–3 days and handles a wider range of containers and dangerous goods. Source: Nurminen Logistics
- Liechtenstein: On 8 September, a public-holiday driving ban applies to specified heavy vehicles and combinations. Haulage requiring an exemption or permit should be checked before dispatching the vehicle. Source: Liechtenstein Administration
Community voice: rates on the rise, drivers still in short supply, Fréjus tests carriers’ patience
What the industry says · last 24 h- LinkedIn (search UE TSL) · 32
- grupy/strony FB spedycja PL · 19
- Wykop (tag transport + wpisy) · 5
- r/Truckers, r/logistics, r/FreightBroker · 120
- Hacker News (Algolia) · 10
- YouTube Data API · 1
- fora branżowe DE (gefahrgut-foren, forum · 10
- trans.info / etransport.pl / media sekto · 8
Freight market: cautious optimism after years of cost pressure
The transport industry on LinkedIn is discussing yesterday’s IRU (International Road Transport Union) report. The IRU post from 7 September quotes Marie-Anne C., IRU’s Director of Strategy and Market Intelligence: "European road freight volumes are starting to steady. The year-on-year drop in Q2 was far smaller than in Q1. But it's too early to call it a recovery: subdued consumer demand and inflation are still weighing on the sector, even as higher fuel costs push rates higher. And the 13% driver shortage rate is also impacting operators' bottom lines" - IRU.
A similar tone can be heard in a post by a Polish transport market expert. Piotr Marynowski wrote on 2 September: "The situation in the European road transport market has changed noticeably in recent months. After a long period of strong cost pressure, the market is beginning to improve from the carriers' perspective. Freight rates have increased, particularly on the spot market, while the availability of trucks on many routes has become more limited" - Piotr Marynowski. He nevertheless points out that after years of fleet reductions and companies leaving the market, rates are only just beginning to reflect the actual cost of providing transport services.
Drivers: a shortage of people or hours lost at the loading dock?
The most interesting exchange took place beneath the aforementioned IRU post, where the 13% driver shortage rate sparked a discussion about what is really limiting haulage capacity. Adrian Szaładziński commented: "Perhaps the driver shortage should also be looked at as an efficiency challenge, not only a recruitment challenge. When capacity is limited and costs keep rising, every unnecessary kilometre, hour of waiting or manual process matters. The question is not only how to find more drivers, but also how to make better use of the capacity we already have" - Adrian Szaładziński.
Vlad Cioca put it even more bluntly, describing his Spain–Romania routes: "On our Spain to Romania runs, how I feel the 13% driver shortage is less about hiring and more about hours lost waiting at docks, so the same driver covers fewer loads. What are your members reporting on loading and unloading times, IRU?" - Vlad Cioca. It is a voice that shifts the discussion from "how many drivers are missing" to "how many hours are being lost by the drivers we already have".
Fréjus: a bottleneck between Italy and France
The topic from today’s article headline is alive in industry media, although more as a logistics puzzle than a social-media storm. According to trans.info, the Mont Blanc tunnel will remain closed until 16 December, while modernisation work in the Fréjus tunnel (which began on 2 September and will last four weeks) means alternating traffic throughout the month, with a complete closure overnight from 13 to 14 September. As the only alternative to Mont Blanc, Fréjus is expected to handle additional traffic estimated at up to 1,500 trucks a day on the Bardonecchia–Modane route during this period. The operators of both crossings are calling on carriers to plan their routes in advance, anticipating delays along one of the key Italy–France corridors.
Fresh, direct comments from drivers on French-Italian forums could not be confirmed with a specific date today—this is one of those topics where industry portals are ahead of discussions on driver forums.
ADR 2027: documentation and batteries take centre stage
Changes to the ADR agreement for 2025–2027 are a topic that appears mainly on expert websites in the Polish industry, rather than in heated forum threads. Articles from Transport Manager and Transpolonia indicate that from July 2025, the transport document must be kept in the driver’s cab, while the consignor or shipper is responsible for providing complete documentation before transport begins. The agreement itself introduces new battery categories (including sodium-ion batteries) and changes to the carriage of bulk materials at elevated temperatures. The German industry forum forum-transportunternehmer.de advises carriers to take an inventory of the dangerous goods they transport now and check the expiry dates of drivers’ ADR certificates—the new version will fully enter into force on 1 January 2027, with a six-month transitional period until 1 July 2027.
Poland: PIP inspections of B2B contracts and changes to e-TOLL
On Wykop yesterday at 8:24, user truckeronroad-com described a new area of inspections in the industry: "The issue and the related abuses have been known for a long time, but the State Labour Inspectorate has now received new tools to act effectively. Inspections at companies have already begun. The number of complaints being submitted has also increased" - truckeronroad-com on Wykop. The post concerns PIP inspections of B2B contracts (self-employment) for professional drivers—inspectors have already issued more than one hundred orders to confirm employment contracts where the civil-law arrangement raised doubts.
At the same time, information appeared under the #transport tag about changes to e-TOLL from 21 September: vehicle combinations will be exempt from the electronic road toll where the GVW of the tractor unit does not exceed 3.5 tonnes, even if the entire combination is heavier after a trailer is attached (ObserwatorGospodarczy on Wykop). Reactions beneath the post were limited—user kubako summed up the change with a brief "well, logically enough", which in itself shows that the topic is being treated as a technical adjustment rather than a controversy.
Rates from the front line: offers circulating in freight-forwarding groups
Instead of declarations that the "market is moving up", carrier listings in Facebook groups remain the most straightforward rate barometer. In the Transport Spedycja Logistyka group, Andrey Vysotski (Express Heroes) was looking on 7 September for regular carriers on routes to/from BE/NL/LU/CZ/DE/AT/IT/ES/FR, paying "for every kilometre travelled (empty and loaded)" with an average monthly mileage of at least 10,000 km (post in the group).
In the "Praca w branży Transport, Spedycja, Logistyka" group, Kasia Grządko offered a rate of €1.70/km for empty and loaded kilometres on 7 September, with a guarantee of at least 10,000 km per month (post), while the previous day Dawid Krogulewski published an offer for routes to Germany/Belgium/France/Denmark/Luxembourg/Austria: "€1.28/KM + SURCHARGES + BONUSES €300–850", with the possibility of rates "up to €2.50/km" (post). The spread between €1.28 and €2.50 per kilometre on the same routes clearly shows how uneven and route-dependent the spot market remains today.
Sentiment of the day
The mood in the TSL industry is ambivalent today: LinkedIn is talking about a market that is "starting to steady", but every voice cautions that this is not yet a recovery, while cost pressures (fuel, labour shortages and road tolls) continue to weigh on margins. In Poland, regulatory issues dominate—PIP inspections of drivers’ B2B contracts and cosmetic changes to e-TOLL, which have been met without much emotion. Fréjus and ADR 2027 are, for now, "plan-ahead" topics for freight forwarders rather than heated forum debates—the real temperature of the discussion remains highest where money is concerned: rates per kilometre and whether the problem is a shortage of drivers or, rather, a shortage of hours in which they can work effectively.
Sources unavailable today: the driver forums trucker-forum.at, forotransportistas.es, foros24h.com and forum.soferdetir.ro were not searched directly today—the material on ADR 2027 and Fréjus was obtained from alternative industry forums (gefahrgut-foren.de, forum-transportunternehmer.de, etransport.pl) and sector media.
Quotes come from public discussions in the industry community. Original spelling has been preserved.