Will new regulations have road freight rates soaring in 2026?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What 2026 means in practice

2026 won’t be “one more regulatory year” for European road freight — it’s a stack of changes landing close to each other:
dangerous goods enforcement gets stricter, vans enter the tachograph era, new safety tech becomes standard in newly produced heavy vehicles,
and cost drivers (wages, tolls, access restrictions) keep climbing.

Key dates at a glance

ADR: roadside checks and shared responsibility

From 2 November 2025 (with full implementation by 24 June 2026), the ADR enforcement framework tightens.nDelegated Directive (EU) 2025/1801 introduces a unified inspection checklist, a three-tier risk model (High / Medium / Low),
and makes compliance a shared duty across the chain — not just the driver and the carrier, but also consignors, consignees and tank operators.

For companies involved in dangerous goods moves, this is less about paperwork and more about readiness:
procedures, driver training, and verifying whether an ADR safety adviser must be appointed under the updated thresholds/exemptions.

Vans & tachographs: the operational reset

From 1 July 2026, international freight transport performed by vans up to 3.5 tonnes enters the tachograph regime:
second-generation smart tachographs (G2V2) become mandatory, along with working-time compliance expectations closer to those in trucking.
For smaller operators, this isn’t a minor admin change — it’s a new operating model.

Hardware is only the opening cost (around EUR 1000 for purchase and installation). The real workload follows:
driver cards and company cards, staff training, procedure updates, and reliable software for data reading/archiving.
Many vans are not factory-prepared for G2V2, which can turn deployment into a scheduling headache.

Vehicle safety tech: what changes for fleets

The next phase of the General Safety Regulation (GSR) pushes advanced safety systems deeper into commercial vehicle manufacturing.
From 7 July 2026, Advanced Emergency Braking Systems (AEB) become mandatory for newly produced trucks.

In parallel, Event Data Recorders (EDR) — effectively “black boxes” — apply to newly homologated buses and trucks from 2026,
and expand to all vehicles in these categories from 2029.

Even if requirements target “new production / homologation”, fleets feel the impact through procurement decisions,
resale values, training needs, and workshop readiness.

Germany: minimum wage cost pressure

Some 2026 changes require investment first and hit later. Germany’s minimum wage increase hits immediately.
From 1 January 2026 it rose to EUR 13.90 per hour, with a further increase to EUR 14.60 per hour planned for 2027.

For road transport, that translates into higher labour costs embedded in freight rates, especially on lanes touching Germany —
still Europe’s biggest economy and one of the key transit markets.
Carriers will likely recalibrate pricing, staffing models, and route planning; shippers and forwarders should expect more frequent
rate renegotiations and surcharge discussions.

Road tolls: more per km, more CO₂ components

Across 2026, toll systems continue shifting away from flat access (vignettes) toward kilometre-based charging,
with CO₂ emissions increasingly priced into the equation. Markets affected include: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France,
Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania.

Even when mechanisms differ, the pattern is consistent: road freight pays more per kilometre, and “green cost” becomes a visible line item.
For operational planning this matters: route economics change, contract profitability needs re-checking, and fleet modernisation becomes harder to postpone.

Environmental zones: access becomes conditional

Regulatory pressure is not only financial. Access rules evolve too, as more cities/regions move toward environmental or zero-emission zones.
From 1 January 2026, the Netherlands applies nationwide exemptions and transition periods for such zones.
Italy introduced a ban on Euro 5 diesel vehicles in four northern regions: Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto.
Poland also moved: Kraków introduced a clean transport zone from 1 January 2026, restricting diesel vehicles below Euro 6.

Action checklist for shippers & forwarders

To keep service levels stable in 2026, treat compliance as a procurement and planning topic — not only a carrier problem.
Here’s a practical checklist:

• Update tender requirements: specify emission class, zone access readiness, and tachograph compliance where relevant.
• Ask for evidence, not declarations: ADR procedures/training, tachograph rollout plan, cards/software readiness for vans.
• Prepare for pricing mechanics: expect more frequent surcharges (tolls/CO₂/wages) and shorter or index-linked contracts.
• Map critical lanes: Germany exposure, zone-heavy city distribution, and routes sensitive to toll changes.
• Build capacity buffers: smaller carriers may pause international van work or exit lanes that become compliance-heavy.