The forecasts of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan predict a continuous increase in freight transport performance, showing no decoupling between economic and transport growth. Rapid transport networks and interfaces between various transport carriers are vital for maintaining the mobility required for a division-of-labour economy.

Funds allocated for maintaining and developing transport infrastructure should be sustained among all construction trustees responsible for planning, construction, operation, and maintenance. This supports the removal of bottlenecks and ensures infrastructure repairs and long-term investment planning, benefiting businesses and ensuring adequate staffing resources. Some companies advocate the earmarking of truck toll revenues for national highways to enhance funding consistency, while others recommend using toll revenues to support other transport carriers with exemptions to be transparently regulated.

Significant examination is required to ensure investments in alternative drive technologies, such as battery electric or cleaner diesel fuel options (e.g., HVO-100, E-Fuels, hydrogen-based fuels, and hydrogen-powered vehicles), are supported through tax incentives and reduced toll rates. Consideration should also be given to the competitive disadvantages for local providers based on how comparable instruments are used by other nations.

Infrastructure burdens, such as taxes and regulation times, must also account for how they influence Germany's international competitiveness. A shift towards train and inland shipping can only succeed with stronger infrastructure tailored to combined transport and safeguarding specialized rail links. Ports should continue being vital for supply security and logistics spaces, especially within ports, must remain prioritized over other uses. Federal and regional governments must create better frameworks to aid municipalities in designating logistics areas effectively.

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Long-term maintenance strategies based on the concept of minimizing life-cycle costs are currently hardly feasible. At the same time, there is often a lack of planning and construction capacities.

Priority setting in the current Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan regarding substance preservation, bottleneck elimination, and the upgrading of axes and nodes should be consistently implemented without neglecting new construction projects, such as closing gaps. Some companies advocate a different position, pointing to the problem of induced traffic and demanding traffic management measures instead of building new motorways.

The planning of construction capacities should be improved in order to complete construction projects quickly and avoid long-term construction sites. Additionally, meaningful priorities and sequences for construction projects should be set. Industry and transportation sectors should be involved in this process.

All projects listed under "Urgent Needs" and supplementary measures required to implement the so-called Deutschlandtakt should be completed or at least initiated by 2030. The goal should be to establish an efficient network for the economy, which also includes alternative routes to alleviate overloaded main axes and critical infrastructures. Moreover, the accessibility of regions outside the metropolitan areas and economically weak regions should be strengthened to secure corporate locations there and make them attractive for new business establishments. Motorway connections to existing and newly planned industrial parks should be advanced and implemented.

Reactivations and gap closures can play an important role in the rail network. Sufficient axle loads for heavy freight trains must be considered when upgrading the existing network. Electrification should be advanced.

Infrastructure for bicycle traffic should be improved.

In order to ensure compliance with driving and rest periods in road traffic, a sufficient number of qualitatively adequately equipped truck and bus parking spaces with overnight facilities, sanitary facilities, and security standards to protect against cargo theft should be available nationwide along federal highways.

The application and approval procedures for oversized and heavy transport should finally be improved to be more practical. Also, the transition of transport escort to authorised persons should be expedited. A nationwide network for heavy transport is recommended, which also connects seaports and inland ports.

Due to its significant role in the German economy, the national importance of German seaports should be considered much more strongly in transport policy than previously.

The existing polycentric airport infrastructure, including regional airfields, ensures access to air traffic nationwide and thus internationally competitive location conditions. It is equally important for export-oriented companies in passenger and cargo transportation.

Furthermore, it should be avoided that valuable infrastructure, such as regional airports or logistics areas in ports, are closed due to short-term considerations.

Companies are ready to take measures to achieve climate neutrality but require greater planning security. Technologies and fuels should be available at competitive costs and in sufficient quantities.

To ensure companies aren't hindered in deploying climate and environmentally friendly technologies, the EU and the German federal government should adhere to a technology-neutral approach. They should support alternative drives like e-fuels or (bio)fuels, innovative logistics and mobility concepts, telematics, and even autonomous driving. Particularly in freight transport, internal combustion engines can remain relevant alongside electric mobility by using biofuels or e-fuels to attain long-term greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.

For vehicles with alternative drives, a comprehensive supply infrastructure should be established, such as fast charging stations, hydrogen fueling points, or facilities to retrofit depots and operating yards. The specific infrastructure requirements for road freight and bus transport must also be considered. Some businesses believe that policy should play a guiding role in technological decisions.

Vehicles bans, environmental zones, or restrictions on private and commercial transport result in substantial costs for manufacturers and vehicle owners. Therefore, policymakers should only consider measures that make mobility more sustainable overall. They should intensify technologies for intelligent traffic management, improve connectivity and utilization across various transport systems, and enhance mobility management and parking space administration. While parts of the economy see benefits in environmental zones, vehicle bans, or congestion charges, particular advantages include better planning security and increased adoption of electric vehicles. However, network expansion must proceed more rapidly to meet high point-load connection demands.

The air freight offering should become more competitive, centering more on supply and demand. Additionally, supplying sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) should be ensured to comply with mandated blending quotas without distorting competition with airlines outside the EU. Failure to do so could jeopardize the EU's intercontinental connectivity.

Threshold values for vehicle fleets should be based on technical advancements and take into account the economic feasibility for companies. New thresholds should only apply to new vehicle registrations and not retroactively to vehicles already registered.

Road infrastructure plays a key role in public provision. Shift from road to rail and inland waterways encounters limits in terms of capacity, nationwide availability, and development standards. Significant traffic reallocations require substantial investment in expanding and rehabilitating these transport carriers and their interfaces. Raising the cost of road usage without providing suitable alternatives does not achieve the desired steering effect and environmental relief but rather increases costs only.

This includes renovating and expanding the rail network, which is necessary to significantly increase the modal split share of rail in passenger and freight transport.

Likewise, the inland waterway infrastructure. The inland navigation sector has reserve capacities that could be better utilised through the rehabilitation and expansion of waterways, locks, and port facilities—thus relieving the roads. Inland navigation is particularly suitable for oversized and heavy transports. European climate policy solo efforts such as the inclusion of aviation and maritime shipping in the EU emissions trading scheme may lead to unilateral burdens for European companies and shifting of CO2 emissions to third countries. Instead, international agreements should be sought to ensure fair competition conditions. Some companies, however, support the EU's pioneering role and fear that international regulation may be less effective (refer to Climate Protection).

Efforts to reduce traffic, especially motorised individual traffic, in inner cities may affect their attractiveness as economic locations, leading to businesses relocating to suburban areas. In case of a possible reallocation of street space, access to cities should still be possible for cars, trucks, and buses.

Some companies also see the necessity to reduce and make street traffic in cities more environmentally friendly to create livelier cities with better quality of life and stronger retail sectors. Shifting, avoiding, and improving traffic can have a sustained positive impact on the economic downtown. While access for economic traffic should remain intact, traffic modes in city centres could be diverse. This includes parking management systems that reduce the number of motor vehicles in inner-city areas.

Lorry zones enable efficiency gains in delivery transport and help avoid disruptions to other road users. Providing spaces for neighbourhood hubs, supporting the use of cargo bikes and small electric vehicles, and establishing parcel boxes shared by courier, express, and delivery service providers would allow delivery traffic in city centres to be handled in a more environmentally friendly way. Certain companies demand that medical transport receive greater prioritisation.

Long-lorries are viewed by numerous businesses as a way to transport volume goods economically and sustainably. Additionally, they can transport the same amounts of goods with fewer personnel. Therefore, the entire motorway network should be opened up to long-lorries. At the very least, registering new routes for long-lorries should be expedited and granted for routes without any safety concerns. These vehicles should also be allowed to transport at least certain classified dangerous goods. Especially in general cargo transport, where loading volume is often the limiting factor, this would improve both economy and climate protection. Some businesses are critical of long-lorries and instead advocate for greater rail transportation.

Truck driving bans on non-federal holidays should be standardized and made more practical. Current regulations result in a "patchwork" that complicates logistics companies' operations and unnecessarily strains both cost efficiency and the environment due to detours. Similarly, night-driving bans should, according to parts of the industry, be abolished.

Corporate mobility management contributes to environmentally friendly personal mobility and can bolster the use of public transport (PT). Therefore, it can ease pressure on the roads. Additionally, it can help companies retain staff, secure skilled workers, and reduce costs. Uniform national standards and appropriate framework conditions are required for this purpose. 

Public transportation services are significantly provided by public enterprises. Through municipal in-house decisions, new providers and SMEs might be excluded from the market.

To fulfil its tasks—including public welfare and the politically desired traffic changes—the public transportation sector requires reliable and adequate funding. This requires sufficient capacities in planning authorities along with measures to combat expertise shortages. While many businesses oppose stronger public transportation cross-financing due to possible burdens, some approve.

Considering the costs of public transportation, forms of non-subsidised services should generally take precedence. If public bodies provide resources to extend public transportation offerings, they should organise competitive service allocations. Private companies advocate structuring approval processes based on general regulations. However, several municipal enterprises remain sceptical of competitive allocations and favour direct awarding without a tender, considering it as an equal alternative.

Public tenders and allocations should not disadvantage SMEs but provide them real opportunities by selecting appropriate bidding scales. Some companies oppose splitting allocations as it could make investment refinancing more challenging.

New technical opportunities should be capitalised upon, allowing emerging formats in public transportation more space and promoting equal competition amongst providers. This requires robust protections for providers handling essential public services, whilst also abiding by tariff, operational, and transportation obligations. Public transportation providers—especially private bus companies—require financial and structural support to maintain operations. Maintaining operator diversity ensures competition within public service provisions.

Mobility behaviour is changing, driven by an increased diversity of offerings and technological applications. Infrastructure must adapt to maximising demands in traffic management and autonomous driving. Smart Cities and Smart Regions are envisioned to utilise information and communication technologies for enhanced synergy between energy generation, usage, building, and transport infrastructures, achieving required efficiency improvements. Multimodal travel chains will avoid over-reliance on a single mode of transport.

Digital control and intensified automation of traffic and public transport systems, such as intelligent parking guidance, signalling systems, and construction coordination, enable smoother and more eco-friendly transportation amidst challenges like personnel shortages in traffic operations and control centres. Municipalities need to offer long-term strategies to guide businesses effectively. A comprehensive traffic management plan, termed a "Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan," should underpin smooth transitions across mobility options and functional logistics within urban centres. This approach would sustain or improve the appeal of cities and communities for economic purposes. Reliable mobile data reception across all German regions is paramount to achieve these goals.

Rail transport equally offers immense potential through enhanced digitalisation. Equipping trains and routes with ETCS technology (European Train Control System) facilitates cross-border rail operations, circumventing current barriers from diverse national control and security systems. Precise digital tracking and control of trains allow reduced gaps between trains in usage without compromising security, enhancing route capacity without physical network expansions. European investment programs should support ETCS technology deployment and upgrades.

In cargo rail, the Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) system promises significant gains in efficiency by simplifying train assembly processes and necessitates determined investments.

At both German and European levels, frameworks should be fortified to broaden the use of public and private transport data. EU directives such as the Data Act or Mobility Data Space require user-centric adaptation into German law.

The budget for the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) within the "Connecting Europe Facility" (CEF) is insufficient. The EU should take stronger action – for instance, by increasing co-financing resources via CEF – to encourage member states to fulfill their responsibilities for efficient national and cross-border infrastructure across all modes of transport. This applies to both transport routes and their interconnections. To ensure the financing feasibility for this, funding conditions should be realistically designed.

Expansion and maintenance of the trans-European core network are of utmost priority due to its high strategic importance for the European economy. Some companies believe that funds should primarily be allocated to expanding rail transport, while road infrastructure should focus on renovation.

Every EU state should ensure the swift implementation of its national transport projects – which includes the Trans-European core network. Funds from the "Connecting Europe Facility" can only serve as initial financing. Private operator models and public-private partnerships (PPP) are also viable options, provided they are economically advantageous over public provision and accelerate project execution.

Although the market for rail transport is open, in practice the implementation of rail transport by "third parties" continues to be hindered in some EU states. Track allocation and technical regulations should therefore be transparent. They should not be used to block the market. Moreover, rail networks should offer capacity flexibility and not be exclusively tailored to the needs of a single user.

The "Single European Sky" should be completed; it can contribute to reducing emissions and increasing punctuality. Competitive distortions for the German and European aviation industries, such as the aviation tax in Germany, should be avoided. The comparatively low development of air traffic in Germany after the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need for action. However, some companies are calling for stronger contributions from the aviation industry to climate protection.

Clear regulations and their consistent enforcement should ensure fair competition in EU road freight transport. Barriers, such as regulatory solo efforts in the form of bans and dosage, for example in Brenner transit, should be eliminated. Some companies oppose this and solely advocate measures to reduce road freight transport and shift it to other modes of transport.

To alleviate driver shortages, the deployment of drivers from the EU and third countries should be facilitated. This includes, for instance, the simplified recognition of foreign driving licenses and the acceptance of comparable examinations from third countries. A high level of safety is to be ensured.

The competitiveness of German seaports should be enhanced, among other things, through the harmonization of relevant EU regulations.