The road freight transport market recorded a slowdown in the growth rate in the period January-June 2023 compared to the same period last year, against the background of the decrease in volumes, which also generated a stagnation in transport tariffs, a DSV Road analysis shows, the third largest transport company in Europe. In this context, DSV Road has a business growth of 20% in the first half of the year, below last year’s level in Romania.
“If in 2022 the market for road transport of goods grew quite rapidly, this year, according to the data from the first six months, the growth is lower in Romania, the market going through a recovery process. At the same time, at the level of Europe, a slowdown in economic growth is felt, for example, Germany, which has the strongest transport industry in Europe, entered a technical recession, registering a slight decrease in the market. However, in this context, the impact on the road freight transport market in Romania is quite low”, explains Sergiu Iordache, Managing Director of DSV Road.
The growth rate of the transport industry is also slowing down against the background of lower consumption, generated by high inflation. Thus, until the end of 2023, according to DSV Road forecasts, the transport market in Romania will continue to grow, but will not exceed the growth level of 2022.
If in 2022, the capacity to transport goods was insufficient, causing transport delays, this year there is a slight decrease in the volumes of transported goods, returning to normal handling capacity. As a result, due to the decrease in the volumes of goods, but also the cheapening of diesel, transport costs have stagnated.
In this context, DSV Road continues to see growth in business, but lower than last year, of 20% in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2022, when it recorded growth of 30%-40% compared to 2021. In terms of cargo volume, DSV Road carried 280,000 tonnes of cargo, up 10% from the first half of 2022.
“Our company has grown constantly, year after year, Romania having a very high potential in terms of the transport of goods. The growth is supported both by the larger number of customers and by the development of certain markets, such as e-commerce and automotive, where the volumes of goods are increasing. At the level of services, groupage transport is still the most sought after, but intermodal transport has the most accelerated growth due to lower costs and the desire of companies to use methods that protect the environment”, says Mihai Teodorescu, Country General Manager DSV Road.
Groupage transport is one of the most sought-after types of transport within DSV Road, for which demand is expected to increase by 30% this year. This type of transport generates over 50% of DSV Road’s business in Romania. In tandem with groupage and intermodal transport, DSV Road registers spectacular demands for domestic transport and green transport solutions.
In the current context, in 2023, the DSV Road company expects a 10% increase in business, after last year it recorded a turnover of 70 million euros, 40% higher than in 2021, thanks to increasing the number of customers and demand for all types of transport, especially groupage and intermodal. Romania is one of the most important markets in the region for the Danish group DSV, present locally for almost 30 years.
