Federal Association of Road Haulage Logistics and Disposal

The Bundesverband Güterkraftverkehr Logistik und Entsorgung (BGL) e.V. — rendered in English as the Federal Association of Road Haulage Logistics and Disposal — is the umbrella trade and professional association for the commercial road freight, logistics and waste-disposal industry in Germany. It is a registered voluntary association (eingetragener Verein) headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, with additional offices in Berlin and Brussels. Its membership is organised through 15 regional state associations (Landesverbände), which are themselves registered associations, and it currently represents roughly 7,000 member companies active in road freight transport, logistics, forwarding, warehousing and disposal. The BGL describes itself as "the voice of medium-sized road freight transport" (Die Stimme des mittelständischen Straßengüterverkehrs). Its core purpose is to represent the professional interests of road haulage companies in Germany across all policy areas relevant to the trade, including transport, economic, financial and social law. It lobbies federal and state governments, engages with EU institutions through its Brussels office, and provides its members with industry information, position papers and services. The association also runs public-facing campaigns to improve the image of the transport and logistics sector, such as the #ichfahrfürdich image campaign, and operates a podcast, "Just-in-time." The industry the BGL represents is economically significant: according to the association, trucks carry 72% of Germany's freight transport performance and 85% of freight volume, and the commercial road freight sector employs around 650,000 people. The BGL's work therefore spans a wide range of issues, from fuel prices and tolls to driver shortages, electrification of fleets and combined road-rail transport. In recent years the association has expanded its activities into new areas. In September 2026 it announced BGL Charge, a nationwide depot-charging network for road freight developed together with the company Depotcharge, backed by a €2.7 million financing round. It also continues its long-running advocacy on operating costs, publicly appealing to Chancellor Merz over high diesel prices. The BGL's history reaches back to 1947, when the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Güterfernverkehr (AGF) was founded — almost two years before the Federal Republic of Germany itself — and it has carried its present name since 1999 following a merger with the Bundesverband Wirtschaftsverkehr und Entsorgung (BWE).

The BGL's history is, in its own words, the history of truck transport. Its organisational roots lie in the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Güterfernverkehr (AGF) and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Güternahverkehr (AGN), both founded in September 1947 — almost two years before the Federal Republic of Germany. The immediate context was the devastation of post-war Germany: after the unconditional capitulation of 8 May 1945, roads, rails and bridges were largely impassable and everyday goods were scarce. Negotiations with the military authorities of the occupying powers over the allocation of scarce goods such as tyres and fuel required a united front. On 6–7 September 1947, delegates of the individual state associations met at Krupunder See in Schleswig-Holstein, north of Hamburg, to discuss effective interest representation for the transport trade. This laid the basis for a common trade policy: the AGF. An earlier predecessor body existed during the Nazi period. From 1926 to 1945, committed transport entrepreneurs had joined together in the Reichsverband deutscher Auto-Ferntransportunternehmer (RDF) e.V., which was dissolved in the course of the Nazi consolidation of power. After the Second World War, with Germany divided into four occupation zones and no German state in existence, the entrepreneurial community reorganised itself step by step into independent state associations within the individual zones. In the four decades from 1948 to 1985, public and political perceptions of the truck changed: the "helper in need" became a "nuisance factor." To protect the railways, which were fighting growing deficits, measures were introduced against road freight transport. The AGF responded by building up its organisational and political work. In 1964 the AGF renamed itself Bundesverband des Deutschen Güterfernverkehrs (BDF) e.V. Under its president Friedrich Möhrmann (born 19 January 1908), the association subsequently created the logo "fern-schnell-gut," the "Brummi," and the so-called BDF bridges — standardised loading units for combined road/rail transport that are still regarded as the benchmark today. In 1997 the BDF changed its name to Bundesverband Güterkraftverkehr und Logistik (BGL) e.V., and in 1999, following its merger with the Bundesverband Wirtschaftsverkehr und Entsorgung (BWE) e.V., it adopted its current name: Bundesverband Güterkraftverkehr Logistik und Entsorgung (BGL) e.V. The term "Güterkraftverkehr" is today used synonymously with "Straßengüterverkehr" (road freight transport). Since then the BGL has consolidated its role as the apex association of the German road freight, logistics and disposal industry. It is organised as a registered association based in Frankfurt am Main, with offices in Berlin and Brussels, and operates through 15 regional state associations that are themselves registered associations. Its membership comprises around 7,000 companies. The association's purpose is to represent road freight companies domiciled in Germany in all areas of professionally relevant policy, including transport, economic, financial and social law. It also maintains federal-level member organisations such as the Bundesverband Schwertransporte und Kranarbeiten (BSK) e.V., the SVG Bundes-Zentralgenossenschaft Straßenverkehr eG, and TRANSFRIGOROUTE DEUTSCHLAND e.V. In the 2020s the BGL has combined traditional lobbying with new service and image-building activities. It runs the #ichfahrfürdich image campaign for the transport and logistics industry, produces the "Just-in-time" podcast, hosts the Zukunftstag Nutzfahrzeuge (Commercial Vehicle Future Day), and publishes an annual report. In September 2026 it launched BGL Charge, a nationwide depot-charging network for road freight, together with Depotcharge and backed by a €2.7 million financing round. It has also continued to press the political case on operating costs, publicly appealing to Chancellor Merz over high diesel prices.

• 2026

  In September, BGL and Depotcharge launch BGL Charge, a nationwide depot-charging network for road freight, backed by a €2.7 million financing round.

• 1999

  Following a merger with the Bundesverband Wirtschaftsverkehr und Entsorgung (BWE) e.V., the association adopts its current name, Bundesverband Güterkraftverkehr Logistik und Entsorgung (BGL) e.V.

• 1997

  The BDF changes its name to Bundesverband Güterkraftverkehr und Logistik (BGL) e.V.

• 1964

  The AGF renames itself Bundesverband des Deutschen Güterfernverkehrs (BDF) e.V.

• 1947

  On 6–7 September, delegates of the state associations meet at Krupunder See and found the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Güterfernverkehr (AGF); the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Güternahverkehr (AGN) is also founded in September 1947.

• 1926

  Transport entrepreneurs join together in the Reichsverband deutscher Auto-Ferntransportunternehmer (RDF) e.V., a predecessor body later dissolved under Nazi rule.

Apex trade and professional association for Germany's medium-sized road freight, logistics and disposal industry, acting as its political voice at federal, state and EU level.

• BGL Charge

  A nationwide depot-charging network for road freight transport, launched in September 2026 together with Depotcharge and backed by a €2.7 million financing round.

• BGL-Jahresbericht (Annual Report)

  The association's annual report, e.g. the 2024/2025 edition, summarising industry data and association activities.

• Just-in-time – der BGL-Podcast

  The BGL's podcast format covering transport and logistics topics.

1. 1BGL - Bundesverband Güterkraftverkehr Logistik und Entsorgungbgl-ev.de
2. 2Unsere Geschichte - Bundesverband Güterkraftverkehr Logistik und Entsorgungbgl-ev.de
3. 3Bundesverband Güterkraftverkehr Logistik und Entsorgung – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
4. 4Federal Association of Road Haulage Logistics and Disposal – Wikidatawikidata.org