The new regulations, which require a final sanction by the European Commission, are set to take effect on 1 January 2013.
The changes mark a more committed indirect support mechanism by government to aid a weakened Finnish transport sector, struggling under the weight of fuel costs, by helping to bolster profitability and reduce the cost-base of the country's hauliers.
The new 76-tonne limit has been sought by the transport industry in Finland since 2010. At present, the maximum permissible weights and dimensions of heavy vehicles allowed to operate on roads in Finland is up to 60 tonnes --25 metres in length.
Merja Kyllönen, Finland's minister for Transport & Communications, said: "The government has taken a very close look at the financial pressures under which Finnish hauliers operate. This measure will help companies to improve efficiencies in their logistics and save on fuel costs. "
"Overall, this new measure will make Finnish transport companies more competitive," she added.
The government, said Kyllönen, accepted that "super trucks" would invariably result in higher maintenance costs to Finland's primary and secondary road systems. However, the measure would also reduce environmental traffic emissions.
"The added costs in road maintenance must be weighed against the superior advantages overall of allowing the operation of bigger trucks,"said the minister.
A report by the government's Transport and Communications Policy Ministerial Working Group, which was presented to the minister in October, estimated that the upward change to the maximum total weight of vehicle combinations would produce annual savings of 200 euro million for the Finnish road transport sector.
Of this amount, some 60 euro million would result from logistics' related efficiencies and spin-off savings. |
