In an unfavourable economic climate characterised by falling volumes, prices and margins, road haulage is a cause for concern for both the industry and financial experts. For 2003, potential will be down by around 3% and margins will be in the red on average. Beyond that, road haulage is hampered by structural issues related in particular to social costs and, above all, the burden of taxation. This taxation weighs doubly on the French flag. On the one hand, there is specific taxation, where France is surpassed only by Great Britain, and on the other hand, there is overall taxation, where France is again at the forefront. And this is precisely the moment chosen by the European Commission to create a new infrastructure tax. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that the BIPE now considers transport to be the most at-risk sector.