In brief

• The article concerns the debt of Polish road freight transport companies.
• According to data cited in the text, 23.7 thousand firms admit to arrears, and their debts reach PLN 1.32 billion.
• Carriers have orders, but payments often arrive late, which hampers the day-to-day work of companies.

Growing debt in the industry

In October, the number of road transport companies having difficulties repaying their liabilities rose to 23.7 thousand, and their debts reached PLN 1.32 billion (Transport tonie w długach. Już 23,7 tys. firm ma problemy ze spłatą zobowiązań – Bankier.pl). The Krajowy Rejestr Długów (National Debt Register) indicates that the deepening of difficulties is influenced, among other things, by rising costs of running a business.

Late payments

The debt concerns nearly 24 thousand enterprises transporting goods by land. As many as 92 percent of carriers receive money late (Polscy przewoźnicy toną w długach. 1,32 mld zł zaległości, a problemy ma już niemal 24 tys. firm – GazetaPrawna.pl) (Polscy przewoźnicy toną w długach. Jest praca, nie ma za nią pieniędzy – Puls Biznesu). Carriers have orders, but delayed settlements make it difficult to finance day-to-day operations.

Terms longer than 120 days

According to data from another service, 42 percent of firms agreed to payment terms longer than 120 days. Under such settlements, entrepreneurs must cover the costs of trips themselves before they receive payment.

Margins and foreign clients

Polish road carriers hold a leading position in Europe, but their financial results do not reflect this position. Margins are shrinking, and payment for freight can wait for months (Polscy przewoźnicy drogowi dominują w Europie, ale nie przekłada się to na ich finanse – marże maleją, a na zapłatę za fracht czeka się miesiącami - Pravda Polska – news-pravda.com). Difficulties in recovering receivables from foreign clients deepen the arrears, which already reach PLN 1.63 billion.

Risk for the fleet

The authors of the reports warn that collection problems may soon make it difficult for firms to lease new trucks. A lack of liquidity means limiting investment in the fleet, even when there is no shortage of orders.