If you want to know how the money literally flows out of your pocket when you fill up, you have to call Kurt Hotter in Röthenbach an der Pegnitz in Central Franconia, for example. The freight forwarder owns 18 semitrailer tractors, which can transport a lot, but also swallow accordingly: With a tank volume of 1,000 liters each, Hotter calculates on the phone, a few months ago you paid 1,500 euros for one filling. Now it is 2200 euros. And a full tank lasts about a week. Overall, he has a third additional costs because of the high fuel prices, “we have to recover them”.
Bring in as much as you can: Entrepreneurs throughout Bavaria are currently grappling with this challenge in view of rising and rising energy prices. In the case of freight forwarders, taxi drivers or bus drivers, however, the consequences are particularly visible – and the hardships great. On Monday, the price per liter for diesel and Super E10 nationwide climbed above the two euro mark for the first time, and the trend is rising. Those who are still lucky in their misfortune can pass on the additional tank costs to the customers. In the long run, however, this will be difficult. Supermarkets and dealers, households and consumers will also eventually run out of financial scope.
Salad oil instead of diesel?
So far, Hotter’s customers have accepted the fuel-related surcharges. However, entrepreneurs do not always encounter this much understanding at the moment. And some have exhausted their reserves. “What two years of pandemic haven’t done, fuel prices are threatening to do,” says Stephan Rabl from the Bavarian Bus and Coach Association. Corona hit tourist traffic in particular hard with canceled trips, “now the next hammer is coming”. It is also difficult for the other transport companies to fulfill current contracts given the situation. Large buyers pay a little less for a liter of diesel, but the price is currently “just under two euros,” says Rabl. At the beginning of last year, however, it was still one euro net. Nobody could have calculated such an increase.
Although planning is currently difficult anyway. Although fuel prices have been rising for a long time, the war in Ukraine has sparked a whole new dynamic – of which nobody really knows how far it will go. The extent to which this price development is eating away at the wallets and nerves of companies and private individuals alike could also be followed on Wednesday on the ADAC website. Among other things, there were articles about how much petrol you can have in a spare can (in Germany: a maximum of 60 liters) or whether diesel cars run on salad oil (recommendation: better not try it). In addition, rising energy prices are fueling other costs. For example, AdBlue, the emission control agent for diesel vehicles, has also become more expensive. Ammonia and natural gas are usually required for its production, which is why manufacturers reduced their production last year with reference to the high gas price.
In view of the recent price jumps, the Bavarian Association of Bus Companies is calling for a “substantial reduction” in energy taxes, among other things. At least the freight forwarder Hotter could live with a price of 1.50 euros or 1.80 euros per liter of diesel. The most important thing is that there is a reliable price “at which we can plan”.