IRU: Oversized freight faces dual squeeze as European rates fall but costs stay high
The International Road Transport Union's (IRU) latest European Road Freight Rate Development Benchmark for Q1 2025 presents a challenging outlook for the continent's oversized and abnormal load operators. While general contract and spot rates softened amid weak industrial demand and geopolitical uncertainties, key costs impacting heavy haulage, such as tolling, driver wages, and regulatory requirements, remain high or are even increasing. While the IRU's benchmark report shows no direct breakdown for the oversized segment, there are some key broader trends which potentially pose specific headaches for these operators.
Toll increases across Europe, including double-digit hikes in Bulgaria and Denmark's move to distance-based tolling, will disproportionately affect the heaviest vehicles.
Road transport at a 'critical inflection point'
Similarly, while driver wage inflation has slowed, specialist heavy haul drivers remain in short supply, with Europe facing a record 426,000 unfilled trucking positions. For the oversized sector, which by its nature is often reliant on complex, time-sensitive projects, the combination of falling freight rates and stubbornly high operating costs adds to commercial pressures already compounded by market uncertainty. Vincent Erard, IRU Senior Director for Strategy and Development, said: "Road transport stands at a critical inflection point - where resilience, sustainability and competitiveness must converge.
Despite economic headwinds and global trade uncertainty, Europe's transport sector has the potential to power a new cycle of regional growth. "Policymakers and industry must now co-create the conditions that enable long-term investment, digital transformation and decarbonisation - especially for the SMEs that form the backbone of our supply chains."
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References
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