2022 was marked by notable stagnation in the European road haulage sector. With a total of 1,920 billion tonne-kilometres, the market struggled to post dynamic growth, nevertheless stabilizing at a level 5.5% higher than the pre-pandemic period of 2019.
This period of economic uncertainty, exacerbated by the prolonged repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions, notably the conflict in Ukraine, had varying repercussions on the main European flags, each navigating through the challenges with varying degrees of resilience.
What are the main European flags?
According to Eurostat data, the top 10 European flags remain unchanged over the 2021/2022 period. 5 countries remain dominant in this market, representing over 100 billion tkm:
| 2021 (millions tkm) | 2022 (millions tkm) | 2022/2021 change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poland | 379.820 | 385.089 | + 1.4 % |
| Germany | 307.272 | 303.948 | - 1.1 % |
| Spanish | 270.176 | 266.724 | - 1.3 % |
| France | 174.853 | 173.353 | - 0.9 % |
| Italy | 144.986 | 151.100 | + 4.2 % |
Several trends can be discerned from these figures:
- Poland is reinforcing its position as market leader, despite being in the front line of the disruption caused by the war in Ukraine, due to its geographical proximity.
- Germany, on the other hand, is in decline, with a significant drop of 4% over 5 years, the highest in the top 10
- Spain is particularly affected by market trends, whether COVID or the war in Ukraine, although business has rebounded in 2021
- 2022 takes France back below the pre-pandemic level of 2019
- Italy outperforms the other countries in the top 5 with the best performance for 2022, and now rivals the Eastern European countries
Although the German flag is declining, an examination of freight volumes shows that the German market remains crucial for international transport within the European Union. Germany plays a pivotal role in intra-European trade, being at the origin or destination of half of the top twenty bilateral trades in 2022.
However, the participation of German hauliers in these exchanges was less than 50% for the major flows, dropping to just 2.8% for trade between Germany and Poland, as Eurostat points out.
The state of national road transport in 2022
According to Eurostat data, national road haulage in the 27 represented 1,178 billion tkm in 2022, 75% of which is made up by the top 5. This time, Germany remains in the lead with 268 million tkm, despite falling domestic traffic (-1.3%) and a level still below 2019. France is in a similar situation.
Here are the main results for domestic road transport in 2022:
- Germany : 268 millions tkm
- Spain : 178 millions tkm
- France : 160 millions tkm
- Poland : 140 millions tkm
- Italy : 132 millions tkm
Analysis of the market share held by EU hauliers who neither originate nor consume goods highlights the pre-eminence of the Polish flag and the emergence of Eastern European hauliers. Polish hauliers clearly stand out as leaders among hauliers from EU members that are neither countries of origin nor destination.
In 2022, of the 20 major intra-EU transport flows, Polish companies were in the lead for 12 of them. Moreover, in the remaining eight flows managed by other carriers, Poland was involved either as origin or destination in four of these cases.
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