Industry journal L’Officiel des transporteurs reports 645 company insolvencies in the second quarter of 2025 alone: a stark reversal of the typical spring recovery pattern. The figures represent a 1.4% increase from the previous quarter and a 7% rise year-on-year, with insolvencies up 55% over two years.
The crisis extends beyond simple business closures. Business confidence in the road freight sector plummeted to 97.2 points in August, well below long-term averages, with 47% of company directors citing insufficient demand: an exceptionally high proportion that signals deep structural problems.
Employment in the sector has contracted by 1.1% over two years, leaving just 425,800 workers by the end of March 2025. Meanwhile, 632 freight transport companies entered collective procedures in the first quarter alone.
Cash flow remains critically weak across the industry, with treasury positions significantly below historical averages. This financial fragility is compounding operational challenges and limiting companies’ ability to invest in new equipment or expand services.
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French hauliers squeezed by lowest margins in Europe
French hauliers are operating with sector-wide profit margins of just 2-3%, among the lowest in the French economy and significantly below European competitors. This margin squeeze is attributed to what Union TLF describes as a punitive fiscal and regulatory environment that undermines French operators’ competitiveness.
The impact extends beyond France’s borders, as the crisis affects international supply chains and European logistics networks. Delivery delays, price increases, and potential supply disruptions are becoming more frequent as operators struggle to maintain service levels.
Union TLF President Jean-Thomas Schmitt emphasised that companies form “the keystone of our economy” and warned that competitiveness “must be the absolute priority of the coming weeks.”
Union TLF presses for tax relief and regulatory clarity
The transport federation is demanding immediate government action across three key areas:
- Regulatory reform: establishing stable, long-term environmental policies with clear, achievable targets that allow companies to plan investments effectively.
- Fiscal relief: reducing the tax burden on an industry already operating on minimal margins, particularly as operators face pressure to invest in cleaner technologies.
- Investment support: creating conditions that enable companies to modernise fleets, recruit drivers, and maintain essential infrastructure.
From Belgium to Hungary: insolvency wave hits European roads
France is not alone in facing this transport sector meltdown. Neighbouring Belgium recorded 724 bankruptcies in its transport and warehousing sector during 2024: an 11.7% increase from the previous record year of 2023. Recent high-profile failures include Eurosped Belgium, which declared bankruptcy for the second time in three years, and five companies under Group De Wolf, employing about 100 workers.
Poland‘s road transport sector is experiencing what industry representatives describe as its “deepest crisis in 25 years.” The country faces a shortage of 150,000 lorry drivers while grappling with what operators call unfair competition from Ukrainian hauliers, whose annual truck journeys have surged from 200,000 to approximately one million since the war began.
Hungary presents another troubling case study. According to fresh analysis from DigiLog Consulting, the Hungarian road freight sector has been unprofitable since the third quarter of 2023. The number of haulage companies declined by approximately 2% in the second quarter of 2025, with nearly 9.1-10.5% of firms disappearing from the market since the downturn began in 2022. One-third of Hungarian operators are now running at a loss, while those remaining profitable achieve only single-digit margins.
According to DSV’s latest market update, the broader European picture remains challenging, with the Eurozone’s purchasing managers’ index for manufacturing at 49.8 points in July – still indicating decline. Transport capacity has decreased whilst operating costs continue rising, with truck maintenance costs up 2.3% and transport sector wages increasing 4.5% in the first quarter of 2025.
