While the desire to expand into other European countries may be partly driven by opportunity, some companies are being forced to reconsider their business models due to changes to rules relating to weekly rest entitlement for drivers.
The survey indicated that most international road transport businesses are having to make changes to their operations to deal with the changes to EU Drivers' Hours' regulations. New EU regulations mean that operators will have to organise the workloads of international drivers to ensure they return home more regularly.
The survey found that 63% said they will arrange transport home to base for international drivers, while 36% of those surveyed said they will look to establish one or more additional bases with a view to drivers completing shorter legs of international journeys as a result.