Road transport is facing major challenges with the economic downturn, but also the unpredictability of costs and decarbonisation. In 2024, the European economy is expected to recover slowly, but this is unlikely to happen before the end of the year.
According to the OECD, global growth is expected to slow further in 2024 to 2.7% from 2.9% in 2023 and 3.3% in 2022. The UN's World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report is even a little more pessimistic, with an estimated growth of 2.4% in 2024. The gloomy near-term outlook is explained by “persistently high interest rates, further escalation of conflicts, sluggish international trade, and increasing climate disasters,” all of which pose significant challenges to global growth, the UN said. “The prospects of a prolonged period of higher borrowing costs and tighter credit conditions present strong headwinds for a world economy that is saddled with high levels of debt but also in need of increased investment, not only to resuscitate growth but also to fight climate change and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” the report adds.
The European economy in general and the road freight transport sector in particular are in line with this general diagnosis. The European economy lost its momentum in 2023, against a backdrop of high living costs, low external demand and monetary tightening. As for the road transport sector, it must cope with the economic downturn, while facing the unpredictability of its costs or the imperatives of decarbonisation.
CONTENTS
- An economic rebound expected at the end of 2024
- Road transport penalised by the weakness of the German economy
- Continuous Volatility of Fuel Prices
- Shippers take back power
- 2024, the year of the Green Revolution?
- Digitalisation for competitiveness
- The great comeback of the automobile in European transport
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