What is the Mobility Package?
The EU Mobility Package is a package of legislation implemented in stages between 2020 and 2026, aimed at fairer competition and combating social dumping in European road transport. It regulates four core areas: cabotage limits, posting of drivers in other EU member states, mandatory return of trucks to home base (every eight weeks), and stricter registration of driving and rest times via smart tachographs.
For shippers with international flows within Europe the impact is substantial. Tariffs on routes where low-wage country drivers were previously used are structurally higher. Capacity on specific corridors is tighter. And shippers are increasingly asked to take due diligence responsibility for the compliance of their carriers, in some member states even with legal supply chain liability for serious violations.
That makes the Mobility Package no longer a pure carrier issue. For the shipper it is simultaneously a cost, contract and risk question.
When is this process relevant?
An impact analysis and compliance process is sensible on multiple triggers. With contract renegotiations or tenders where Mobility Package impact must be included in rates and conditions. With international transport within the EU where the rules directly apply. With audits or due diligence questions from customers, auditors or regulatory bodies. With ESG and sustainability reporting where compliance on labor regulation in the chain must be reported. And proactively, to limit your organization's risk exposure before an incident becomes public.
Specifically for shippers with long-distance international flows (Netherlands or Belgium to Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, Iberian peninsula) a structured compliance approach has now become standard, not the exception.
Our approach
We map which parts of the Mobility Package touch your transport flows. Per route and modality we quantify cost impact, capacity risk and compliance obligations.
Per core carrier we evaluate the compliance position based on documentation, contractual safeguards and practical sampling. This delivers a compliance status per carrier.
We model the cumulative cost impact on your transport budget over the next three years, accounting for the phased rollout of the Mobility Package components.
We work out compliance clauses for your carrier contracts: declarations, audit rights, supply chain liability provisions, and escalation procedures. These are implemented by your purchasing manager in current and new contracts.
We build an audit and monitoring framework that periodically tests carrier compliance, with clear triggers and escalations. Implementation is handed over to your internal team or we execute it within our Operations & Procurement retainer.
What you get
- Impact report on your transport network with geographic and modality analysis
- Compliance check per core carrier with status and attention points
- Cost impact model over the next three years
- Updated contract clauses for compliance and supply chain liability
- Audit and monitoring framework with triggers and escalations
- Training material for your purchasing and logistics team
Frequently asked questions
What is the EU Mobility Package?
The Mobility Package is a package of EU legislation implemented in stages between 2020 and 2026. It regulates among other things cabotage limits, posting of drivers in other EU countries, mandatory return of trucks to home base, and stricter driving time registration. Goal is to create fairer competition and combat social dumping.
What obligations do I have as a shipper?
Shippers are not directly liable for compliance by their carriers, but the Mobility Package does impose due diligence obligations. You must take reasonable measures to prevent your assignments from causing non-compliant transport. Violation can cause reputational and legal damage, and some member states are introducing supply chain liability.
How much does the Mobility Package cost me extra?
The cumulative impact on transport tariffs varies per route and modality. For long-distance international transport within the EU the impact is typically five to fifteen percent higher costs, especially on routes where drivers from low-wage countries were previously used. For domestic transport the impact is more limited.
Does this apply only to cross-border transport?
Cabotage limits and posting rules apply specifically to cross-border and cabotage operations. Driving times, tachograph rules and mandatory return of vehicles also apply to domestic transport. For shippers with mainly domestic flows the impact is more limited than for those who ship a lot internationally.
How do I check whether my carriers are compliant?
A structured compliance check includes documentation audit (driving time registration, posting declarations, A1 documents), practical sampling (sample checking on execution), contractual safeguards (compliance clauses) and periodic audits. We support shippers with setting up and executing these compliance processes alongside their existing carrier partners.
An impact analysis for your transport network?
Schedule a call where we walk through which parts of the Mobility Package have the most impact on your situation.