Freight Transport Continued to Grow
Road freight transport performance in the European Union reached 1.886 trillion tonne-kilometres in 2025, an increase of 0.9% from the previous year, according to Eurostat.
The total weight of goods transported rose by 1.8%, from 13.057 billion to 13.291 billion tonnes. Tonne-kilometres combine cargo weight with the distance travelled and therefore provide a broader measure of transport activity than tonnage alone.
The figures cover freight carried by vehicles registered in EU countries. Malta is exempt from road freight reporting because it has fewer than 400 registered goods vehicles licensed for international transport.
Poland Accounts for 20.2% of the EU Market
Poland retained its position as the EU’s leading road freight country. Polish-registered vehicles generated 381 billion tonne-kilometres, representing 20.2% of the EU total.
Germany ranked second with 277.4 billion tonne-kilometres, or 14.7%, followed by Spain with 272.6 billion, France with 172.9 billion and Italy with 161.7 billion tonne-kilometres.
Together, the five largest markets accounted for 67.1% of total EU road freight performance. Poland exceeded Germany’s result by more than 100 billion tonne-kilometres, underlining the prominent role of Polish hauliers in European logistics.
National Transport Represents 62.2%
National operations accounted for 62.2% of total EU road freight performance and increased by 2.2% compared with 2024.
International transport involving the vehicle’s country of registration represented 24.4% and rose by 0.3%. Cross-trade — transport between two foreign countries performed by a haulier registered in a third country — accounted for 10.7% and declined by 3.7%.
Cabotage represented the remaining 2.7%. This category, covering domestic transport performed in another EU country by a foreign-registered haulier, decreased by 3%.
The figures indicate that national operations were the principal source of overall market growth in 2025, while cross-trade and cabotage contracted.
Germany Features in Six Major Freight Corridors
The largest country-to-country road freight flow within the EU was recorded between Germany and the Netherlands, with 86.9 million tonnes transported.
The Germany–Poland flow ranked second at 68.4 million tonnes, followed by Belgium–France at 55.9 million tonnes.
Germany was either the origin or destination in six of the EU’s ten largest road freight flows. This reflects its central role in European manufacturing, trade and transport infrastructure, despite Poland’s leadership by total activity performed by nationally registered hauliers.
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