Collapse in the Bulgarian logistics sector
Road freight transport in Bulgaria underwent a significant contraction in 2024, shrinking by 18.6% compared to the previous year. According to the latest Eurostat data, this is the largest decline among all European Union member states. Against this backdrop, total road freight transport in the EU recorded a weak growth of 0.6%.
Comparison with European partners
Bulgaria holds the first place in the EU's negative ranking, followed by Portugal with a 14% decrease and Luxembourg with 8.6%. In contrast to the Bulgarian statistics, 15 member states reported growth in the sector. The largest increase in transport activity was recorded in Slovakia (+15.9%), Latvia (+12.9%), and the Czech Republic (+8.5%), while in Croatia, indicators remain unchanged.
Market leaders and volumes in the EU
In 2024, over 13.1 billion tonnes of goods were transported on roads in the European Union, with total transport activity reaching 1.869 trillion tonne-kilometers. Poland solidifies its position as a leader in European road freight transport, accounting for 19.7% of all tonne-kilometers in the EU. Nearly two-thirds of the activity in the country is international, intra-EU, or cabotage.
Germany follows in second place with 15% of tonne-kilometers, and Spain takes third place with 14.5%. In terms of the quantity of goods transported, Germany maintains the top position in the Union. A group of five countries – Germany, France, Spain, Poland, and Italy – forms nearly two-thirds of all road freight transport in the EU. Germany is the starting or ending point for almost half of the twenty busiest transport directions between member states.
Structure of goods transported
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Eurostat data shows that food products, beverages, and tobacco products are the most important group of goods in terms of transport work performed, with a total of 312.2 billion tonne-kilometers. In terms of the volume of goods, metal ores and mining products are transported the most, followed by food products and non-metallic mineral raw materials.