European road freight transport had a mixed year in 2024. Activity expressed in tonne-kilometres recorded a slight increase of 0.6%, with a total of 1,869 billion, thus returning to growth after a fall of 3.2% in 2023.
On the other hand, traffic expressed in tonnage continued to fall: road carriers in the European Union transported 13.075 billion tonnes in 2024, which represents a decrease of 0.7%, after a decline of 3.4% already recorded the previous year.
Figure 1 - Data source: Eurostat - © Upply
In 2024, the top 10 national fleets in the European Union represented 83.2% of total activity expressed in tonne-kilometres. The list of Top 10 countries remains unchanged, but the Czech Republic takes back the 6th place that Romania took in 2023.
In this global ranking which combines national and international traffic, the Top 5 logically brings together the 5 most populated countries of the European Union, and 4 of the six largest European economies in terms of gross domestic product. Market size is indeed an essential factor in attracting volumes. The Top 5 represents 65.7% of total road freight transport in the European Union in 2024.
However, the ranking is also influenced by the active road transport development strategy pursued by Eastern European countries since their entry into the European Union. The conquest of international market share has allowed the Polish registered fleet to take the top spot on the podium, as well as allowing the rise of the national fleets of the Czech Republic, Romania and Lithuania.
Poland remains firmly and largely anchored in first place, but it has recorded a decline for the second consecutive year. Activity fell by 2.5% in 2024, after falling by 1.9% in 2023. Poland is suffering from the economic difficulties of its main trading partner, Germany, whose GDP contracted by 0.5% in 2024. On the other hand, Polish carriers are facing fierce competition from other Eastern European countries which, in a context of dwindling volumes, have not hesitated to adopt aggressive commercial policies. By 2024, the market share of Polish-registered vehicles in overall EU road traffic had fallen below 20%.
Germany also lost ground for the second consecutive year, due to the contraction of its economy. The share for road transport fleet registered in Germany showed a decline of 1.9%, after having fallen by 5.8% in 2023. The gap with the number 3 on the podium, Spain, is tending to narrow. While Germany has lost 4.6 points of market share in 10 years, Spain has gained 2.1.
After a dip in 2023, Southern European countries are returning to growth. Served by a dynamic economy, and a little more spared from competition from Eastern European fleets for geographical reasons, Spain has largely regained ground lost in 2022 and 2023, with traffic of 271.6 billion tonne-kms, higher than the post-Covid peak of 2021.
France, whose economy held up rather well in 2024 with GDP growth of 1.2%, was also back on the road of growth. The figures for the French registered fleet grew by 2.8% to 174 billion tonne-kms, a short step from 2021 levels. It even regained 0.2 points of market share compared to 2023. The road is a tough one, but the French carriers are stepping up to the challenge.
Lastly Italy, despite a GDP increase of only 0.7%, stood out with its nationally-registered fleet taking the prize for Top 5 growth and as such showed record traffic. It gained 0.8 points of market share compared to 2014.
While the Polish fleet has been struggling, the other Eastern European fleets in the Top 10 have returned to an upward trajectory. This is particularly the case of the Czech fleet which recorded the strongest growth in the Top 10 and crossed the 70 billion tonne-kmsmark for the first time, largely erasing the 1.5% decline seen the previous year. After a recession in 2023 (-0.1%), the Czech economy grew by 1.0% in 2024, driven in particular by household consumption, which contributed to this performance. Romania and Lithuania, which were the only two national fleets to show progress in 2023, continued their momentum. Lithuania joined the EU in 2015, a few years after other Eastern European counterparts. It immediately followed suit by making road transport one of its strategic development axes. Today, after growth of 17.5% in 2023 and 5% in 2024, it is hot on Romania's heels.
Figure 2 - Data source: Eurostat - © Upply
The economic difficulties of Germany and Poland are also reflected in the tonnage results. The fleets of these two countries show a decline in tonnages transported in 2024, while the other three countries in the Top 5 are experiencing growth, to varying degrees. Overall, the Top 10 is down 0.3% and the EU as a whole is down 0.7%, reflecting the continued poor performance of the European economy.
Chart 3 - Data source: Eurostat - © Upply
After experiencing a 3.3% drop in 2023, national road transport[1], which represents 61.4% of overall activity in the European Union, has regained some strength. It totalled 1,147 billion tonne-kilometres in 2024, an increase of 0.8% compared to the previous year, and an average annual growth rate of 0.5% between 2019 and 2024. The Top 5 represents 75% of the volumes. In terms of tonnage, however, traffic is down 1% across the European Union, with a total of 11.8 billion tonnes, 68% of which is transported by the Top 5.
Chart 4 - Data source: Eurostat - © Upply
International road transport[2] of the EU-27 totalled 721.8 billion tonne-kilometres in 2024, an increase of 0.4% compared to 2023. However, it remains well below the record of 742.6 billion tonne-kms reached in 2021. The Top 5 represented 65.3% of traffic. In tonnage, international activity increased by 2.3%, reaching 1.2 billion tonnes.
Figure 5 - Data source: Eurostat.
Despite its difficulties, Germany remains the main provider of intra-European traffic, with 9 of the top 20 connections in terms of tonnage originating from or destined for this country. A situation which favours the Polish fleet, the overwhelming leader on the Germany-Poland route, it is also dominating the market on several other important routes, notably Germany-France, Belgium-Germany or Germany-Italy. The Lithuanian fleet, which saw a 17.2% growth in tonnage on international routes in 2024, compared to 2023, notably gained market share on the France-Italy route, where it now accounts for more than half of the tonnage transported.
[1] National transport is Road transport between two places (a place of loading and a place of unloading) located in the same country by a vehicle registered in that country
[2] International transport is Road transport between two places (a place of loading and a place of unloading) in two different countries and cabotage by road. It may involve transit through one or more additional country or countries.
[3] Cross-trade activity corresponds to international road transport between two different countries carried out by a road vehicle registered in a third country. This transport is declared by the country in which the vehicle is registered.