Bulgaria recorded the sharpest decline in road freight transport in the European Union in 2024, with the sector shrinking by 18.6% compared with the previous year, according to the latest Eurostat data.
The drop placed Bulgaria at the bottom of the EU ranking, while overall road freight transport across the bloc increased slightly by 0.6%. Portugal followed with a decline of 14%, and Luxembourg registered a decrease of 8.6%.
At the same time, 15 EU member states reported growth in road freight activity. The strongest increases were recorded in Slovakia, where transport expanded by 15.9%, followed by Latvia with 12.9% and the Czech Republic with 8.5%. In Croatia, the sector remained unchanged.
Across the European Union, more than 13.1 billion tons of goods were transported by road in 2024, while transport activity reached 1.869 trillion ton-kilometers. After a decline in 2023, the sector showed signs of recovery, although differences between individual countries remained significant.
Poland continued to lead European road freight transport by transport activity, accounting for 19.7% of all ton-kilometers in the EU. Germany ranked second with 15%, followed by Spain with 14.5%.
Poland’s strong position is linked to its role as a major logistics hub, with almost two-thirds of its road freight activity involving international transport, cross-border operations or cabotage.
Germany remained the EU leader in terms of the total volume of goods transported by road. Together with France, Spain, Poland and Italy, it accounted for nearly two-thirds of all road freight transport in the bloc. Germany was also involved as either the starting or final destination point for almost half of the 20 busiest transport routes between EU member states.
Eurostat data show that food, beverages and tobacco products generated the largest share of transport activity, reaching 312.2 billion ton-kilometers. In terms of physical quantities transported, the largest volumes consisted of metal ores and mining products, followed by food products and non-metallic mineral materials.
While road freight transport in Europe is gradually recovering after several difficult years, the 2024 figures highlight Bulgaria as the EU country with the most significant deterioration in the sector’s performance. (Novinite)