July 11th 2019, London, UK: The European road freight market saw a slowdown in volume terms during 2018, with real growth in the market at 2.9% for the year. This followed a really strong 2017, when an expansion of 3.3% was recorded, the fastest expansion Ti has recorded in more than seven years.
These findings come from Ti’s latest report, European Road Freight Transport 2019, which goes on to forecast the slowdown continuing throughout 2019 as performance in key European retail and manufacturing markets remains subdued.
Major European economies have struggled. Germany flirted with recession in the latter stages of 2018 as a result of softer external demand and disruption in its automotive sector, while Italy felt the effects of mounting public debt and Brexit uncertainty continued to harm investment in the UK economy. Andy Ralls, Quantitative Analyst at Ti commented, “As road freight remains by far the dominant mode of transport for moving goods domestically and internationally in Europe, its market growth in volume terms has been adversely affected through falling economic growth in 2018.”
Ti’s forecast for the five years to 2023 is more positive, although growth is not expected to be significantly higher than the rate seen in 2018. While the market faces a number of challenges as a result of headwinds in the European economy, the underlying fundamentals are good and will be supportive of expansion over the medium-term, even if that growth is not particularly dynamic.
Looking ahead over the five years, Ti’s Head of Research, Nick Bailey, commented “Ti expects to see a steady rise in demand for goods as household spending power increases and production capacity and productivity rise. Volume growth in the short-to-medium term will be dependent on these macroeconomic fundamentals which, importantly, suggest solid in growth rates of both domestic and international road freight transport. The main beneficiaries are likely to be markets in Central & Eastern Europe where downside risks from any slowdown in major trading partners will likely be limited by rising domestic demand and wage growth in tight labour markets.”
About European Road Freight 2019
European Road Freight Transport 2019 provides analysis of how the market is changing by assessing cost structures, EU policy, shippers’ requirements and the potential of digital freight marketplaces.
European Road Freight Transport 2019 examines:
To find out more about the report visit www.ti-insight.com/product/european-road-freight-transport
About Ti: Transport Intelligence (Ti) is the leading source of market research and intelligence for the global supply chain and logistics industry. Since its founding in 2002, the company has delivered a range of research products and consulting solutions to the world’s largest retailers, banks, consultancies, shipping lines and logistics providers, and become trusted advisors to global institutions such as the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, the UN and the European Commission.
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