Spain: Domestic demand drives road freight transport
Spanish road freight companies recorded growth in transported volumes during the first two quarters of 2025, supported by domestic demand. Freight rates are rising on the domestic market, while the situation on international routes remains more mixed.
The growth momentum of the Spanish economy continued in 2025. After an increase of 3.5% in 2024, GDP grew by 3.2% year-on-year in the first quarter and by 3.1% in the second quarter. Forecasts remain optimistic, ranging between 2.6% and 3% depending on the institution for the whole of 2025, and between 2.0% and 2.2% for 2026.
An economy driven by domestic demand
Growth has been entirely fuelled by domestic demand (+3.5% in Q2 2025 compared with Q2 2024), mainly household consumption and investment. The services sector plays a leading role, and since it generates relatively little demand for transport, the expansion of the economy does not automatically translate into equivalent growth in road freight transport activity.
Foreign trade has also a strong impact on road haulage activity. In 2023 (latest available data), 66% of Spain's exports to the EU and 64% of imports were transported by road. The weak economic situation in EU countries continues to weigh on Spanish exports. Over the first eight months of 2025, exports fell by 6.3% to France, 2.5% to Germany, and 6.3% to Italy.
Imports from the EU, on the other hand, have been more dynamic: +3.5% from Germany, +1.9% from France, and +11.8% from the Netherlands -- a total increase of 4.4%.
Evolution of road freight volumes
The activity of Spanish road freight transport companies recovered in 2024 (+2.6% to 1,549 million tonnes), according to data from the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTMS).
It then continued to grow in Q1 2025 (+6.6%), supported by strong growth in the domestic market (+7.4%) but hindered by a decline in international activity (-4.6%).
Growth continued in Q2 (+2.6% to 427 million tonnes), again driven by the domestic market. In tonne-kilometres, however, activity fell by 4.8% in Q2 2025 and remained flat for the first half of the year (-0.1%). Moreover, not all segments of the road freight transport sector have benefited from this recovery (...).
CONTENTS
- Economic outlook
-> Key Indicators -> Advanced Indicators
- Road Freight Transport Market
-> Volumes
-> Costs
- Road Freight Rates
-> Spanish Domestic Market
-> International Lanes