Romanian products and services up to 20 pct more expensive because of bad roads

In Romania, products and services are between 15 and 20 percent more expensive than they should, because of the poor quality of roads, Ion Lixandru, head of Romtrailer and a member of Romanian Business Leaders (RBL) said on Thursday.

“It is very easy to analyse. If, from Bucharest to Cluj, I would have an average speed of 70 kilometres per hour, I would need 10 cars. When I have a speed of 48  kilometres, it means I need 17 cars, meaning 17 drivers, 17 investments in vehicles, 17 engines that use fuel. They all add up toa  cost that is 15-20 percent bigger for products and services. We are talking about an average, not about all products,” Lixandru, a well-known entrepreneur in the transport sector, said.

Moreover, as they spend more time on the road, products are of a poor quality compared to similar countries in western Europe, where the logistics system is better managed.

Decebal Popescu, CEO Cartrans Romania, said that his company made an EUR 20 investment in 2017, which allowed for cars to be loaded within two hours. However, he argued that the time saved due to the investment is then lost on the way because of the poor state of road infrastructure.

“What Germans do with 10 people we do with 15. And think about the fact that there is machinery that consume, need fuel, parking spaces and warehouses. So we store more goods in trucks and deposits, to ensure the normal flux,” Lixandru said.

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Plus, the two also criticised the decision of the National Company of Administration of Road Infrastructure to restrict heavy traffic in summer for nonperishable goods, which triggers higher costs and makes vehicles spend more time on the road.