German truck traffic on the rise, with varying impact on European hauliers

After a rebound in July, truck traffic on Germany’s roads stabilised in August. However, in September, the total mileage of heavy goods vehicles subject to tolls (over 3.5t) grew by 2.2 per cent compared to the same period last year.

German trucks saw the highest increase, with mileage up by 4.4 per cent year-on-year, reaching approximately 1.99 billion km. Much of this growth can be attributed to the higher usage of vehicles in the 3.5t to 7.5t category. For trucks over 7.5t, however, the growth was marginal, with German operators recording a slight 0.1 per cent decrease compared to last September.

Meanwhile, Polish trucks registered a 1.2 per cent decline in mileage, covering around 0.64 billion km on German roads. When excluding vehicles between 3.5t and 7.5t, the drop was even sharper, with a 3.3 per cent year-on-year reduction to 0.624 billion km.

Overview of the nine months

For the first three quarters of 2024, the total mileage of trucks over 7.5t in Germany reached around 30.1 billion km, a 0.4 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2023. German hauliers contributed to this growth with a 0.8 per cent rise in mileage. In contrast, Polish operators saw a slight 0.4 per cent decline.

Polish hauliers remain the dominant foreign operators on German roads, accounting for 18.9 per cent of the total toll road mileage. Despite this leadership, they saw a slight reduction in their share compared to last year. Other European countries, such as Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Romania, also maintained their shares of toll road traffic, with minor fluctuations.

Share of lorries over 7.5 t on toll roads in Germany by country of registration