• The road freight sector is not one single market. Rather, it is divided up into a number of different segments that may overlap, yet operate in distinctly different patterns and serve different customer types.
• The European road freight transport market is highly fragmented. The top 10 players are estimated to have accounted for only 10% of the market in 2015.
• The economy in Europe has experienced some recovery in the Eurozone and continued growth in the UK, Sweden and parts of Central Europe. Despite this, the road freight market remains muted.
• In 2015, the European road freight market is estimated to have grown by 2.5% in nominal terms, slightly lower than 2.8% growth in 2014.
• Market growth has been driven by volume growth in 2016, whereas the impact of changing transport prices is thought to have been smaller than the previous year, but slightly negative overall.
• European road freight industry is on the threshold of a period of systemic change which will transform operating models and disrupt markets
• Several competing alternative fuels are being developed and although still not competitive against fossil fuels at the moment, they have the potential to transform the industry in the near future.
• Manufacturers are investing huge sums in battery technology and it seems inevitable that in the next five years it will become feasible for even the largest trucks to be powered by electricity.
• Central Europe has emerged as an important location for manufacturing operations. These are usually serving markets in Western Europe or are reliant on supply chains based in Western Europe. This has the effect of increasing demand for international road freight. ​
• Implementation of a minimum hourly wage for drivers in France and Germany is likely to affect the cost structure of road freight providers operating in these markets.

Thomas Cullen

Thomas is a widely respected writer and has been analyzing the global logistics market for over 15 years. He has edited a number of international publications and written for most of the leading trade publications in Europe. He has written several in-depth reports on a variety of subjects including Automotive and Chemical logistics. Thomas has been vital in adding value to Ti’s Logistics Briefing service for the last 10 years and works on many global consultancy projects.

Professor John Manners-Bell BA (Hons) MSc AKC FCILT

Prof John Manners-Bell is Chief Executive of Ti, Honorary Visiting Professor at the London Metropolitan University’s Guildhall Faculty of Business and Law and an adviser to the World Economic Forum. He has over 25 years’ experience working in and analysing the global logistics sector. John started his working life as an operations manager of a logistics company based in the UK. Prior to establishing Ti in 2002, he worked as an analyst in consultancies specialising in international trade, transport and logistics. He also spent a number of years as a manager of UPS, in a strategic marketing and communications role. John holds an MSc in Transport Planning and Management from University of Westminster and is an Associate of King’s College London where he studied Classics and Theology. He is a Fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and former Chair of the Supply Chain and Logistics Global Advisory Council of the World Economic Forum.  He has also advised the European Commission Directorate-General for Energy and Transport. He has written three books on the industry – ‘Global Logistics Strategies: Delivering the Goods’, ‘Supply Chain Risk: Understanding Emerging Threats to Global Supply Chains’ and ‘Logistics and Supply Chains in Emerging Markets’. His second book, ‘Supply Chain Risk’ won the Mention Speciale ACA-Bruel Prize for supply chain literature in 2014.

David Buckby

Alex Le Roy

As a graduate in International Relations, Alex brings a variety of knowledge and interest to his role as an Analyst at Ti. Alex’s drive to constantly provide quality analysis for the logistics industry has led him to increase his area of responsibilities to include investigating the potential for new products, training new recruits, and scanning the horizon for the next big thing.

Violeta Keckarovska

Violeta is a research analyst with vast experience in the design, implementation and analysis of electronic and person-to-person surveys. Having worked across a number of sectors, including retail, luxury goods and FMCG, Violeta is experienced in gaining valuable insights across brand perception, voice of customer and strategic re-positioning intelligence campaigns for B-to-B and B-to-C clients.

Ti report offers insight into the technologies affecting the future of road freight

• European road freight industry is on the threshold of a period of systemic change which will transform operating models and disrupt markets
• Several competing alternative fuels are being developed and although still not competitive against fossil fuels at the moment, they have the potential to transform the industry in the near future.
• Manufacturers are investing huge sums in battery technology and it seems inevitable that in the next five years it will become feasible for even the largest trucks to be powered by electricity.

28^th November 2016, Bath, UK: Ti is pleased to announce that the latest edition of its best-selling report, European Road Freight Transport 2016, is now available to purchase. As with previous years, the report provides industry leading analysis of Ti’s bespoke market size data, forecasts and analysis of the domestic and international road freight markets from both a regional and country-level perspective.

Ti Economist, David Buckby, explained, “Both 2015 and 2016 appear to be years where the European road freight market has once again grown in the low single digits. The underlying demand environment appears to have been a little better in 2015 and 2016 than in 2014, though lower diesel prices have curtailed overall growth.”

The main driver of change in road freight pricing is the cost of fuel. Buckby continued, “It is perhaps surprising that cheaper fuel has not had more of a negative impact on market growth, though other costs continue to rise and in any case there is no guarantee that lower overall costs translate perfectly to lower rates, in the short run or otherwise.”

As well as the recent impact of diesel prices, European Road Freight Transport 2016 examines alternative fuels and their potential to transform the industry. Although governments around the world have invested heavily in the concept of alternative fuel strategies, using alternative fuels in engines designed for petrol-based fuel is not straightforward. For example, if bioethanol makes up more than a certain percentage of the fuel by volume, its corrosive nature means that engine components must be replaced.

Several competing alternative fuels are being developed and although not competitive against fossil fuels at the moment, they have the potential to transform the industry in the near future. Other technologies examined in the report include Transport Management Systems, autonomous vehicles and the potential impact of drones.