European road freight market to lose speed and expand by 1.4% in 2023


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The European Road Freight Transport 2023 Report from Transport Intelligence – the leading provider of market research to the global logistics industry – shows a picture of a weak recovery, with some unpredictable factors creating an uncertain, challenging and complex market environment in the road freight market.

The market moderation seen in the second half of 2022 has spilled over into 2023. As a result, the European road freight market is projected to lose speed in 2023, expanding by only 1.4% in real terms. In 2023, decreasing real income, tight financial conditions, and soft external demand will weigh on Europe’s economic activity and outlook. Both the domestic and international road freight markets segments will experience a slowdown.

The European Road Freight Transport 2023 is written by industry researchers, analysts and utilising data from Ti’s GSCi knowledge portal, a data powerhouse with over 1 million pieces of data and analysis.

Viki Keckarovska, Research Manager at Ti, says: “The economic downturn is taking its toll on the European road freight market. Slowing economic growth in the EU exacerbated by high inflation weakens demand for road freight services in, through and out of Europe. Looking ahead, the market dynamics will be influenced by the macro development, but overall we expect the road freight market to be flat in 2023. With volumes dropping and available capacity increasing, the downward trend in rates looks set to continue in 2023.”

Report highlights

  • The European road freight market grew 3.5% in real terms in 2022 (20.9% nominally) owing largely to Europe’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the stimulus packages working at full speed in the first half of the year. However, the war in Ukraine acted as a major setback to recovery, causing a slowdown in the road freight market.
  • The market moderation seen in the second half of 2022 has spilled over into 2023. As a result, the European road freight market is projected to lose speed in 2023, expanding by only 1.4% in real terms.
  • Ti data shows that the total European road freight market will see a real CAGR of 2.1% from 2022 to 2027.
  • Ti’s State of Logistics Road Freight Survey 2023 reveals that 84% of road freight companies are currently experiencing increased pressure on margins as costs soar and demand weakens. The top three strategies to sustain profit margins include technology investments, new and better value-added services, and increased focus on higher margin clients.
  • There is a shift in the venture capital landscape with investors being more cautious and slowing down the deployment of capital in digital forwarders. One of the implications is that the start-up strategy will become more targeted towards profitable growth.
  • The comparison of the sustainability strategies of the top 20 European road freight providers shows that a number of companies demonstrate ambitious targets for the next 5 to 10 years, however only five out of the top 20 European road freight companies have set a carbon neutrality targets.

The full report – available here – also analyses the competitive landscape in the European road freight market and offers in-depth market projections and trade forecasts: an essential tool for business leaders making critical decisions.  

Source: Ti Insights

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