Brno - Lorry traffic on Czech roads has been declining towards the end of the year as the global financial crisis has reduced demand for some commodities and forced manufacturers to slow production. Most affected are hauliers serving the car and glass industries.

"We have lost 50-70 percent of orders. Diesel is now cheaper, but we have lots of lorries and nothing to put on them. Most hauliers have slashed prices to keep their wheels turning so they can pay for the leasing," says Marcel Dohnal, executive at forwarding firm Deltrans Spedition.

Last year was beautiful

"Last year the situation was beautiful compared with now. The development has now come to a standstill. We can't even plan anything. But I'm an optimist and believe that our company is not going to go down," says Dohnal.

"Compared with last year before Christmas, our orders are down by up to 50 percent. This is a major threat for us. We have parked one-third of our lorries and we're hiring no new drivers," says Stanislav Veselý, executive at Vestcont.

"The demand has certainly decreased. None of our lorries are idle, but it is now more difficult to find work for them," says Jaroslav Štěpnička of JAS trans.

Bankruptcies are normal

Česmad Bohemia, an association of Czech road hauliers, does not feel the sector as a whole is facing a major threat.

"We don't yet know the precise number of bankruptcies, but it is common that up to 200 [trucking firms] go out of business every year," says Česmad spokesman Martin Felix.

"It's hard to generalize. The crisis has affected mainly carriers serving the automotive and glass industries. In the spring we were facing expensive diesel. Now it's cheaper, but orders have dropped by 20 percent," says Felix.