German industry welcomes easing of lorry rules amid low water levels

Germany's main industry association has welcomed moves to temporarily ease restrictions on Sunday and public holiday lorry traffic as low water levels on major rivers disrupt freight shipping.

"The federal government is demonstrating its ability to act in this extreme situation," Holger Lösch, deputy managing director of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), told the Rheinische Post newspaper on Saturday. "The agreed measures must now be implemented quickly."

Persistently low water levels mean many cargo ships can currently carry only a fraction of their usual loads.

Several German states have temporarily relaxed restrictions on lorry traffic on Sundays and public holidays to allow more freight to be shifted from waterways to roads.

Lösch said moving goods to road and rail could ease the disruption and stabilize supply chains, although it would not fully compensate for lost shipping capacity.

Transport Minister Steffen Bilger earlier announced emergency measures aimed at keeping supply chains moving along key waterways including the Rhine, Danube and Elbe.

Environmental groups have criticized the measures, saying low river levels were a symptom of the climate crisis and that putting more trucks on roads would not solve the underlying problem.