The value of European road transport market will increase by 8.6% in 2021 against 2020 and will exceed the pre-pandemic level by 2.2%, reports Transport Intelligence (IT).
Market growth is more than expected
According to TI, the value of the European road market is expected to be 352.39 B euros with an increase of 8.6% on 2020. This is much more than the figures forecast at the beginning of the year (4.7%).
Such results arise from the dynamic development of the market in the first 6 months of the year associated with the recovery of the European economy after its contraction in 2020. The freight market increased by 11.1% in the first two quarters of the year against the same period last year.
From the strongest European economies, the highest year-on-year growth will be in Spain (11.3%) and France (9.5%). However, compared to 2019, the largest growth is expected in Germany (2.6%) and France (1.4%).
Italian and British markets have not recovered from the pandemic yet.
Road transport sector in Eastern Europe is recovering faster. The biggest year-on-year increase is in Romania (12.7%), Poland (11.1%) and Lithuania (9.3%).
What enables the recovery
The development of European road transport is driven by the growth of industry.
The volumes of international road transport in Europe are expected to grow more dynamically in 2021 (11.8%) than domestic transportations (7.2%). This is explained by the fact that the sectors experiencing the largest growth, namely retail and e-commerce, are more cross-border than, for example, the construction sector.
The factors holding the development of road transport market now include the lack of transport capacity, shortage of drivers across Europe and the rise in fuel prices.
Forecast until 2025
TI analysts expect that the European road transport market will be growing at the rate of 4.3% until 2025 reaching the annual average of 400 B euros in four years.
The experts also say that the limiting factors, such as congestions at ports and delays in delivery, will weaken around the middle of 2023. This will promote further development of European economies and, consequently, the development of road transport services.