According to the latest Eurostat figures for 2024, road transport’s share rose by 3.3 percentage points to 25.7% since 2014, while sea transport—the EU’s dominant mode at 67%—saw its share contract by 2.5 points. The data highlights a steady shift in the European logistics mix, with road haulage gaining ground in 21 member states, most notably in Lithuania and Latvia, even as rail and inland waterways struggled to maintain their positions.
Compared with 2014, maritime transport’s share fell by 2.5 percentage points. Road, by contrast, was the only mode to record growth, rising by 3.3 points. Rail lost 0.3 points, inland waterways 0.5 points, and air was unchanged.
| Mode | Change vs 2014 |
|---|---|
| Road | +3.3 pp |
| Air | 0.0 pp |
| Rail | -0.3 pp |
| Inland waterways | -0.5 pp |
| Maritime | -2.5 pp |
Table 2. Change in modal share, 2014 to 2024
For road hauliers, the figures point to a slow but clear shift in the EU freight mix. Shipping remains dominant overall, largely because of the distances involved in maritime transport, but road freight has steadily strengthened its position over the last 10 years.
The change was visible across much of the bloc. In 2024, road was the main mode of freight transport in 11 EU countries, while 21 member states recorded an increase in road’s share compared with a decade earlier. The largest rises were seen in Lithuania, where road gained 22.4 percentage points, Latvia, up 22.0 points, and Romania, up 14.8 points.
Maritime transport nevertheless remained the leading mode in 15 of the EU’s 22 coastal countries, and in nine of them it accounted for more than 70% of total freight transport.
| Country | Road share in 2024 |
|---|---|
| Luxembourg | 84.4% |
| Czechia | 78.0% |
| Hungary | 68.8% |
Where road freight is strongest
Eurostat also attached several important caveats to the data. Freight performance is calculated using the territoriality principle, which means only transport carried out within a country’s territory is counted, regardless of the nationality of the vehicle or vessel. In maritime transport, tonne-kilometres are calculated according to the distance travelled within each country’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which helps explain the exceptionally high sea shares in some coastal states.
The agency also noted that a higher modal share does not necessarily mean that more freight was carried in absolute terms. It simply means that one mode increased its share relative to the others.
