The federal government rejects more heavier trucks on German roads. The general approval of 44-Tonnern come "out of consideration due to the disproportionately higher burden on the road infrastructure," said the Federal Ministry of Transport.

Previously, 13 associations - including the German Steel Federation, the German Chemical Industry Association and the Petroleum Industry Association - had demanded that heavy goods vehicles should always be able to be loaded heavier. So far, lorries including cargo can only weigh up to 44 tons if their goods cover part of the journey by rail or water. For pure road transport, the maximum limit of 40 tons applies. This should encourage freight forwarders to load goods more frequently on the more environmentally friendly rail and inland waterway transport.

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The federations see the differently: It would have to be released altogether fewer teams, if these should be loaded heavier. This would save millions of truck journeys annually. This would reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. "The transport sector would thus make a significant contribution to achieving the climate goals."

Many companies have been complaining for a long time that there is too little cargo space on the market to transport all their goods quickly. The increase to 44 tonnes would be a good step from the point of view of the associations to defuse this problem.

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From the point of view of the Ministry of Transport, however, gender equality would be counterproductive from an environmental point of view. "Thus, the (...) incentive for the use of climate-friendly rail freight and inland waterway transport would be repealed," it says in the response of the Federal Ministry of Transport, inter alia, as a reason.

Environmentalists were relieved about the attitude of Berlin. "The approximation of the maximum weights would be a setback for combined transport," says Arne Fellermann of the environmental organization BUND. This would make road transport more attractive to the transport industry - and that in turn would be bad for climate protection.