Pressure on European transport operators remains high, but the latest failure figures do not point to a single clear trend. In some countries, formal insolvency numbers are lower than a year ago, in others, broader transport-sector failures are still rising. And in markets such as Poland, the strongest warning sign is not a court insolvency total at all, but the number of operators disappearing from the market.
Great Britain is one example of how this picture can be less straightforward than expected. Official Insolvency Service data show at least 139 transport and storage company insolvencies in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 190 in the same period of 2025. That means the British total is running below last year’s level, although the 2026 figure is still incomplete because the full March total for England and Wales is not yet available in the main industry table.
Germany points in a similar direction at the start of 2026, though its broader annual figures still underline how exposed the sector remains. Destatis data show 92 transport and storage company insolvency applications in January 2026, down from 98 in January 2025. At the same time, Germany recorded 1,415 insolvency applications by transport and storage companies in 2025. Destatis has also identified transport and storage as one of the country’s most insolvency-prone sectors, with 8.6 insolvencies per 10,000 enterprises in January 2026.
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The Netherlands also shows fewer formal failures than a year earlier. According to CBS, 54 transport companies went bankrupt in the first quarter of 2025, down from 74 in the same quarter of 2024. CBS also said that the total number of bankruptcies in the Dutch transport sector fell by 26% in 2025.
France is where the picture becomes more complicated and more revealing. Official Banque de France data for transport and storage show 3,203 business failures, up from 3,024 a year earlier, a rise of 6.9%. But French sector reporting based on Altares data shows that the broad transport and logistics segment recorded 857 failures in Q1 2026, up 12.9% year on year, while road freight transport alone fell 5.3% to 443 cases.
Poland adds another important dimension to the story. According to ZMPD, more than 800 firms holding a Community licence disappeared from the market in Q1 2026. That is not the same measure as formal insolvency proceedings in Britain or Germany, but it is still a strong sign of continued pressure on operators.
Key figures at a glance
| Country / segment | Latest figure | Previous figure | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | At least 139 | 190 | Q1 formal insolvencies lower year on year |
| Germany | 92 | 98 | January insolvency applications lower year on year |
| Germany | 1,415 | — | Full-year 2025 transport and storage insolvency applications |
| Netherlands | 54 | 74 | Q1 bankruptcies lower year on year |
| France: transport and storage | 3,203 | 3,024 | Official sector failures higher year on year |
| France: transport and logistics | 857 | — | Q1 failures up 12.9% |
| France: road freight transport | 443 | — | Q1 failures down 5.3% |
| Poland | 800+ | — | Licensed operators disappearing from market in Q1 2026 |
Note: The chart below uses the latest available year-on-year indicators for each market. France appears twice because the broader transport and logistics segment and the narrower road freight segment are moving in different directions.
Chart: latest year-on-year changes
Year-on-year change in the latest available transport-related failure indicators.
