Diesel Approaches 50 Crowns a Litre: Czech Hauliers Call on Government for Help

Fuel prices in Czechia are climbing fast: a litre of diesel now sells for an average of 47 crowns, with some petrol stations edging close to 50 crowns. That's 14 crowns more than before the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict. Road hauliers have been hit hardest by the price surge, but experts warn the increase will soon ripple through to the price of virtually everything on store shelves — even ordinary pastries, since they too need to be transported.

According to Josef Melzer, president of the ČESMAD Bohemia haulage association, fuel accounts for 30–35% of a transport company's total costs. With prices up 14 crowns per litre, that adds roughly 5 crowns in extra cost for every kilometre driven. Economists expect oil and petrol prices to keep rising in the coming weeks.

Small Hauliers at Risk of Closure

Melzer explains that companies working under contracts with a fuel surcharge clause — which accounts for fluctuations in fuel prices — can gradually pass rising costs on to customers, though not immediately; it typically takes a month, a quarter, or even a year. But with spot-market transport, where the price is fixed at the moment the deal is struck, there's almost no room to do this — and it's precisely these contracts that make up the bulk of small hauliers' business.

"In the short term, pressure on a haulier's cash flow is more lethal than profit or loss itself. Any company that can't negotiate a price increase will be forced out of the market. And the smaller the firm, the less resilient it is," Melzer warns.

He says ČESMAD Bohemia is already seeing small operators with fleets of up to ten trucks exit the market, and a broader wave of industry consolidation could follow. Tens of thousands of firms currently operate in the sector, employing some 200,000 people.

Neighbouring Countries Have Already Stepped In

Melzer recalls that during the previous price spike, the Czech government cut the fuel tax — but this time, neighbouring countries have already taken similar steps while Czechia continues to hesitate. According to him, Poland, Spain, Romania and Croatia are introducing compensatory measures, while the Netherlands has temporarily scrapped its road toll.

"The key issue is price parity with our nearest competitors. If they bring in such measures and we don't, a gap opens up, and Czech hauliers lose their competitive edge," Melzer explains. He warns that domestic transport within Czechia could be snapped up by foreign companies that gain an advantage in their home markets — especially since foreign operators already make up 50% of hauliers on the Czech market. A modern truck can travel almost three thousand kilometres on a full tank, which makes Czechia, as a transit country at the heart of European logistics, particularly sensitive to price gaps with its neighbours.

Government Promised to Revisit Tax Relief

Melzer notes that back in July, authorities publicly promised to cut the fuel tax again if the situation repeated itself. "We're simply reminding them of a promise made publicly," he says, pushing back against the idea that a tax cut is merely a psychological gesture that needlessly strains the state budget. On the contrary, he argues, such a measure helps the whole economy curb inflationary pressure, since the rising cost of transport is ultimately always passed on to ordinary consumers through higher prices.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš believes it's oil refineries that are the main beneficiaries of the current situation. According to Finance Ministry checks, the margin at Czech petrol stations doesn't exceed three crowns per litre, while refinery margins are noticeably higher. "The situation really is very critical. Over the past few months, since June, diesel has gone up by 8 crowns and petrol by 5 crowns, and since petrol station margins are genuinely low right now, we need to ask at the European level whether the refineries themselves are overdoing it," Babiš said.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz