Overview
- Most state governments this week loosened the Sunday and holiday truck driving ban to replace barges that cannot run because of very low river levels, with many exemptions set through August 31 and Rheinland‑Pfalz and Saarland extending until September 30.
- Baden‑Württemberg this week extended and broadened its exemption until the end of September to include oversize and heavy transports and related empty trips, dropping some prior limits on unbroken loads.
- The auto club ADAC warned of higher congestion on key return‑traffic routes such as the A4 near Dresden and the A9 toward Bavaria but said it does not expect a nationwide traffic collapse because rules differ between states and neighboring countries like Austria still restrict weekend heavy trucks.
- Industry groups and firms report real supply problems from the low Rhine levels, with companies such as Covestro citing reduced raw‑material deliveries, while logistics leaders stress that a long‑running truck‑driver shortfall and limited spare fleet capacity will cap how much freight can shift to roads.
- The policy move is politically contested: transport ministers and businesses call it a short‑term fix to avoid production stoppages, unions warn of added strain on drivers, and environmental groups say the low river levels reflect climate pressures that road diversions will not solve.