“We have to respond to the radically changing market conditions and adjust our prices accordingly,” says Carsten Taucke, CEO of Nagel-Group. He cites a specific example: “Wood is extremely scarce in Germany. As a result, the price of wood has doubled since the beginning of the year. This is reflected in the price of loading equipment such as pallets – whether for replacement or repair.” Transport distances needed to procure wood are also increasing, which in turn adds to costs. Pallet exchange as a service is directly affected by these cost increases.
At the same time, demand for transport capacity is increasing, as CEO Taucke is only too aware: “Order volumes have soared in the past few weeks. This affects all sectors. In food logistics, we see it spanning all temperature zones.” As the catering industry continues to open up, they call for very large quantities even after the initial stocking, with volume take-offs in the food retail sector also at a very high level.
These demand peaks are showing no sign of easing off either. If concerts, trade fairs and other events gradually come to be allowed again in the coming weeks – on top of the upcoming holiday season – demand for food will increase by leaps and bounds here too. “This is all happening against a backdrop of rising staff and contractor costs. Transport prices are currently skyrocketing, not least because of the shortage of drivers,” says Carsten Taucke. The Nagel-Group boss adds: “This is something we will need to discuss with our customers.”
