Transport and logistics

1. Transport routes: four domains, one bottleneck principle

Rail

Rail carries large volumes and heavy loads over long distances. In the event of collective defence, pressure rises on hubs: marshalling yards, transhipment points, signal boxes, train control systems and rail power supply.

Road

Roads remain flexible but vulnerable: bridges, motorway junctions, tunnels, service areas and access roads to depots become bottlenecks.

Waterways and ports

Ports and inland waterways enable bulk transport, but depend on locks, bridges, pilots, IT systems and secure access routes.

Air routes

Air transport is fast but limited in capacity and heavily regulated. In an emergency, what counts is integration into coordinated procedures and the protection of airports and access routes.

2) Priority and control: what applies when?

In peacetime, responsibility for traffic management generally lies with civilian bodies. When military convoys are on the move, the police play a central role in managing road traffic so that the convoys can pass.

At the same time, there are special rights in the German Road Traffic Regulations that allow the Bundeswehr and contracted transport providers certain derogations, among others – but they do not “automatically” replace every civilian rule.

In the event of collective defence or a state of defence , priorities shift: deployments necessary for defence are in practice given priority in the use of infrastructure. That is precisely why the planning stresses early coordination of routes, bridge load capacity, rest and assembly points and protective measures.

3) Host Nation Support: logistics as a core state service

As part of Host Nation Support (HNS) Germany provides support to allied forces, for example in planning and approving transit movements, accommodation or refuelling.

For the civilian side, this means that approval and coordination processes, available space, fuel logistics, supplies and protection must be brought together in a robust way.

4) Convoy Support Centres: rest, supply, repair

According to the German Reservists’ Association , Germany’s logistical capacity currently faces structural and organisational hurdles. For march movements, Convoy Support Centres (CSC) are described as temporary rest and supply facilities. They provide refuelling, food, accommodation and technical assistance along march routes, among other things, so that deployments remain predictable.

In civilian discussions, CSCplanning often becomes visible as the interface where responsibilities, standardisation, availability of space and the involvement of civilian service providers need to be clarified in practice.

5) Civilian logistics under pressure: staff, capacity, supply chains

Driver shortage as a pre-existing burden

Even in normal times, a considerable shortage of professional drivers is reported in Germany (in the order of 100,000).

Additional pressure in the event of collective defence

In the event of collective defence, staff availability may fall further, because workers are more heavily committed in their countries of origin or because security policy measures (e.g. broader military training programmes) affect labour markets. Poland, for example, has announced plans to introduce military training for all adult men.

What is relevant for logistics is that the occupation of “heavy truck and lorry driver” in Europe is almost entirely male (98%). In addition, many drivers in international road haulage work under employment models with contracts in other EU countries (often Poland or Lithuania), which makes staff planning in a crisis even more complex.
Important: These points do not automatically mean “drafting drivers”. But they show why businesses in transport and supply should consider staff redundancy and crisis shift capability as part of their resilience planning.

6) Critical infrastructure and “defence-relevant”: protection remains mainly civilian

A central misunderstanding: Not every critical or defence-relevant piece of infrastructure is automatically protected by the military in a conflict. Operator responsibility and civilian hazard prevention remain central, while military forces are primarily tied up with military tasks. This increases the importance of operator resilience (redundancy, emergency operation, spare parts, cyber hardening, access control and site protection concepts), especially for transport modes and logistics hubs.

What this page is meant to do

This page sets out publicly known basics: which transport domains are decisive, why prioritisation becomes unavoidable in the event of collective defence, where civilian responsibilities lie in peacetime and which realistic bottlenecks businesses should already be planning for – without disclosing operational details.

Preparedness and emergency supply laws

Transport and logistics: Transport Security Act (VerkSiG)
The VerkSiG creates the legal framework for managing and securing transport services in crisis and defence situations so that the state’s ability to act, supplies and defence tasks do not fail because of mobility. This is central to total defence, because in an emergency transport capacity, routes and priorities do not work in a “market-driven” way, but must be organised in a coordinated, prioritised and legally sound manner.

Energy: Energy Security Act (EnSiG)
Energy is a prerequisite for transport and logistics, from rail operations to fuel supply and the cold chain. The EnSiG creates the legal framework for managing energy supply in a shortage so that mobility and supply do not fail at the same time.

Water: Water Supply Security Act (WasSiG)
Disruptions to water supply immediately trigger transport needs: emergency water, tanker runs, mobile treatment, spare parts and repair materials must reach affected areas quickly and reliably. Water thus becomes a logistical situation in which available routes, fuel, access rights and prioritisation determine whether supply is stabilised or escalates further.

Food: Food Security and Preparedness Act (ESVG)
No supply without transport: roads, rail, transhipment, refrigeration and fuel determine availability across the country. The ESVG is relevant because it strengthens the state framework for securing food organisationally and setting priorities even when logistics are disrupted.

Postal Act (PostG) and Telecommunications Act (TKG)

• PostG: Postal and parcel logistics are part of civilian transport reality and can compete with other logistics flows in a shortage. The PostG forms the sectoral framework in which postal logistics is organised.
• TKG: Transport and logistics are managed digitally (dispatch, navigation, communication, tracking) and quickly fall back to emergency operation without telecoms. The TKG therefore concerns the communication foundation of logistics management.

Resilience regulation for critical infrastructure (physical & cyber)

• The KRITIS Umbrella Act addresses physical resilience requirements for critical transport infrastructure and strengthens governance and supervision.
• NIS2 is relevant because transport and logistics are managed digitally; cyber disruptions quickly turn into real bottlenecks in movement and supply.