Six years of road freight growth lost to the crisis

The economic crisis has cancelled out 6 years of growth in European road freight transport. The first signs of growth returning to European road freight transport were apparent in the first and second quarters of 2010, although the second quarter of 2010 was still 9% below the level of the second quarter of 2008. 2009 saw a major decline of 10% in total European road freight transport compared with 2008. Within the total, international transport recorded the sharpest decline (-15% for EU-27), followed by national transport (-9%).

In contrast, cabotage grew by 2%. Over the longer run, the Polish road freight industry has been a clear leader in terms of progress in all categories of international transport: international, cross-trade and cabotage. In terms of the types of products carried, the changes between 2009 and 2008 reflect the difficulties of Europe’s respective economic sectors. Metal ores and other mining and quarrying products were by far the most significant products in terms of tonnes, whereas in terms of tonne-kilometres (tkm), food, beverages and tobacco stood out.