- In the third quarter of 2026, 81 Belgian road haulage companies went bankrupt, compared with 75 in the same quarter of 2025.
- Between January and September, the number of bankruptcies reached 297, up from 284 during the corresponding period of 2025.
- Of the 80 companies for which fleet data was available in the third quarter, 58 operated no more than five vehicles.
- Flanders and the Brussels-Capital Region recorded the highest number of bankruptcies.
- TLV cites cost inflation, the difficulty of recovering higher expenses through freight rates and late customer payments.
- The organisation is calling for a Belgian system modelled on France’s Loi Gayssot, allowing unpaid carriers to seek payment directly from the shipper or consignee.
297 bankruptcies in nine months
Figures from the Belgian Institute of Road Transport and Logistics (ITLB) show that the number of bankruptcies has continued to rise. In the third quarter of 2026 alone, 81 professional road haulage companies were declared bankrupt. That was 8% more than in the same quarter a year earlier, when the figure stood at 75.
By the end of September, the cumulative total had reached 297 bankruptcies. By the end of September 2025, there had been 284.
Longer-term figures show a sustained upward trend. ITLB recorded 149 bankruptcies in 2021, 233 in 2022, 277 in 2023 and 307 in 2024. The annual record came in 2025, when 413 transport companies failed.
After nine months of 2026, the sector is already 13 bankruptcies above the comparable figure from last year. Whether a new annual record is set will depend on the fourth quarter. The benchmark is high: 129 companies went bankrupt during the final three months of 2025.
More than twice the pre-pandemic level
The final full year before the pandemic provides a useful comparison. Belgium recorded 117 road haulage bankruptcies during the first three quarters of 2019. In 2026, the figure has already climbed to 297. The number of insolvencies recorded in this period is therefore more than double the 2019 figure and stands at around 2.5 times that level.
The figures also suggest that this is more than a short-lived economic fluctuation. The number of failures has risen almost continuously since 2021.
Transport & Logistiek Vlaanderen describes the situation as structural. The organisation points to several pressures acting at the same time: higher operating costs, intense competition and customers that pay late — or do not settle their invoices at all.
Small carriers are bearing the brunt
The breakdown by company size highlights where the impact is concentrated.
ITLB groups companies according to the number of vehicles they operate. Among the 80 businesses that could be classified by fleet size in the third quarter of 2026:
- 35 operated just one vehicle,
- 23 had between two and five vehicles,
- 21 operated between six and 20 vehicles,
- only one company had between 21 and 50 vehicles,
- no bankrupt company operated more than 50 vehicles.
In other words, around 73% of the classified bankruptcies involved companies with no more than five vehicles.
Fleet data was unavailable for one of the 81 companies because its registered office was in the Netherlands. The business held a Belgian transport licence for an operation in West Flanders, which is why the fleet breakdown covers 80 rather than 81 companies.
The figures therefore point not to a wave of failures among the largest operators, but to continuing attrition among the smallest businesses, many of them running only one or a handful of trucks.
TLV notes that these companies form the backbone of Belgium’s transport industry. Around 80% of transport firms employ fewer than five people.
Flanders and Brussels face the greatest pressure
Bankruptcies are not evenly distributed across Belgium. In the third quarter, Flanders accounted for 62% of cases, followed by the Brussels-Capital Region with 22% and Wallonia with 16%.
The highest numbers were recorded in:
- Brussels – 18,
- Flemish Brabant – 15,
- East Flanders – 13,
- West Flanders – 11.
Antwerp, one of Belgium’s major logistics hubs, recorded seven cases.
Operating costs are rising faster than freight rates
The bankruptcy figures alone do not explain why so many companies are leaving the market. TLV points to a sharp increase in the cost of running a transport business. According to the organisation, the cost of domestic transport in Belgium has risen by more than 9% since the end of 2025. Fuel used in commercial road transport and kilometre-based charges in Flanders have risen particularly sharply.
Road charges are expected to rise again from the start of 2027, by an average of around 4%, according to TLV. Labour costs are also forecast to increase by 4–5%.
The difficulty is that carriers cannot always recover the full increase through higher freight rates.
For the smallest operators, even a temporary cash-flow problem can have serious consequences.
A major customer’s collapse can bring down smaller carriers
Cost inflation is only part of the problem. Payment risk is another major threat.
A carrier may complete a job correctly and cover the costs of fuel, drivers and road charges, yet still receive no payment if the customer later becomes insolvent.
The bankruptcy of Ziegler earlier this year illustrates how this chain reaction works. TLV says the consequences extended beyond the company and its employees because a significant share of the transport work was carried out by external subcontractors. For some small carriers, the customer’s collapse also meant that they were not paid for loads they had already completed.
That is why the Belgian industry organisation is calling for legislative changes.
TLV calls for a Belgian version of France’s Loi Gayssot
Johan Staes, managing director of TLV, is proposing a system based on France’s Loi Gayssot.
In practical terms, the mechanism would allow a carrier that has not been paid by its direct contractor to seek payment from the shipper or consignee.
TLV argues that this would limit the risk of an intermediary’s insolvency passing financial losses down through the subcontracting chain.
The issue is becoming more important because of the structure of Belgium’s transport sector. When most bankruptcies involve businesses with just one or a few trucks, a single large unpaid invoice can put their liquidity under severe strain.
Not a spectacular crash, but a steady erosion of the market
Belgium’s figures point less to a series of major operator failures than to mounting pressure on the foundations of the market.
After Ziegler’s high-profile bankruptcy in June, no company of a similar size has appeared on the insolvency list. That does not mean conditions have improved. ITLB’s statistics show that dozens of the smallest carriers continue to disappear from the market.
With 297 bankruptcies recorded in just nine months of 2026, the sector has already surpassed the figure for the same period in 2025, which was itself a record year.
The third-quarter data also shows that the crisis is not affecting every company equally. Of the 80 bankrupt businesses with available fleet data, 58 operated no more than five vehicles. Small carriers account for the clear majority of the classified bankruptcies in Belgium’s road haulage market.
