Negotiations on the collective agreements of the Finnish Transport Workers Union AKT continue today, February 13, 2023. Wage negotiations are also going on for truck drivers and terminal workers. If agreements cannot be reached, the entire Finnish transport industry is threatened with a large-scale strike, which, if implemented, will significantly affect the flow of freight traffic. Due to ongoing overtime ban at the Finnish ports, one ferry service between Germany and Finland has been cancelled today. Your road transport contact persons will provide more information about possible delays to shipments.

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has expressed support for the U.S. administration's recent efforts to address trade challenges with the European Union, particularly regarding non-tariff barriers affecting the paper and forest products industry. In a statement released following U.S.-EU trade negotiations, AF&PA President and CEO Heidi Brock welcomed the administration’s commitment to fostering fair and reciprocal trade. She emphasized the importance of tackling both tariff and non-tariff obstacles to safeguard U.S. exports. One of the AF&PA’s key concerns is the European Union’s Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR), which the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has classified as a non-tariff trade barrier. According to the association, the regulation could put at risk more than $3.5 billion in annual exports of U.S. forest products to the EU.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 1.1% in October after declining 1.1% in September. In October, the index equaled 115.2 (2015=100) compared with 113.9 in September. Compared with October 2022, the SA index fell 2.1%, which was the eighth straight year-over-year decrease. In September, the index was down 4.1% from a year earlier. The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 119.7 in October, 6.3% above the September level (112.5). In calculating the index, 100 represents 2015. ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight.