How much Does the State of Transport Infrastructure Affect Businesses in Germany?

The results indicate a further deterioration in the assessment compared to the previous survey conducted in summer 2022. Over 84 percent of the companies surveyed reported being regularly affected by infrastructure deficiencies in their business activities in spring 2025, representing an increase of almost 5 percentage points compared to 2022. This decline is evident across all company sizes, with small companies being the most affected, showing an increase of around 7 percentage points. Roads and railways caused the most significant problems. In the current survey, 92 percent of affected companies and 77 percent of all participating companies stated that their general business activities were hampered by deficiencies in road infrastructure. The assessment of rail transport deteriorated particularly sharply: 71 percent of affected companies and 60 percent of all participating companies viewed this as a location problem. A comparison with other sources on the situation in rail transport also supports the plausibility and severity of these results.