CBAM and the trailer industry: what changes for manufacturers?

If you build trailers, you process steel and aluminium, and that means you have to deal with CBAM, the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. What is it, who does it apply to, and how do you keep your purchasing from suddenly becoming more expensive and more complicated? Here are the key points.

What is CBAM?

CBAM stands for Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: a European scheme that places a carbon price on certain goods imported from outside the EU. The goal is a level playing field: products from outside the EU should not have a cost advantage from being subject to less strictly priced CO₂ emissions elsewhere.

The scheme applies to, among other things, iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser, electricity and hydrogen, in other words, exactly the materials the trailer industry works with every day.

What does it mean for you as a manufacturer?

If you import parts or semi-finished products from outside the EU yourself, you will face reporting obligations and, under the definitive regime, CBAM certificates that cover the embedded emissions of your imports. In concrete terms, this means:

• Administration: you need to know and report the embedded emissions of imported goods.
• Cost: certificates must be purchased to cover those emissions, which raises the real purchase price.
• Uncertainty: suppliers outside the EU often cannot, or can only with difficulty, provide that emissions data.

The simplest route: sourcing EU-compliant

The scheme applies to imports from outside the EU. If you buy from a supplier that operates within European rules, that burden shifts from your desk to your supplier's. That is exactly why more and more manufacturers are choosing a fixed European partner for parts and custom work.

Intermetal supplies on a CBAM and EU-compliant basis and is EORI-registered. This means you know that your parts, from locks and hinges to loading ramps and complete chassis, arrive without customs or carbon surprises. Our full CBAM statement is available on the website.

Checklist for your purchasing

• Map out which parts you import from outside the EU.
• Ask suppliers for emissions data; if they cannot provide it, that is a risk.
• Calculate the real costs: certificates plus administration plus delays.
• Compare that with an EU-compliant supplier, where those costs and risks do not apply.