In May this year, truck traffic in Europe’s largest transit country increased year-on-year, both for all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes and in the category of trucks over 7.5 tonnes. The increase was recorded among both German-registered and foreign vehicles.
German trucks over 3.5 tonnes covered around 1.94 billion kilometres on toll roads in May, marking a 6.1% increase compared to the same period last year.
Polish trucks logged 0.65 billion kilometres, representing a 5.7% year-on-year rise. Lithuanian trucks, covering 133 million kilometres, improved on last year’s figure by 5.9%.
Among the foreign hauliers with the highest mileage after Germany, Romania stood out, overtaking the Czech Republic in May. Romanian trucks over 3.5 tonnes increased their mileage by 16.2% year-on-year, reaching 114.5 million kilometres.
Czech trucks, on the other hand, maintained the same level as in May last year – around 106 million kilometres. In April, our neighbours – following Poland and Lithuania – held third place among foreign carriers with the highest mileage on German roads.
It is worth noting, however, that in May 2024, vehicles with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 3.5 to 7.5 tonnes were not yet subject to tolls – the road toll for this weight category was only introduced on 1 July 2024. Therefore, comparisons for vehicles over 7.5 tonnes are more reliable.
Traffic over 7.5 tonnes is also on the rise
In this vehicle category, the increase was more modest. German trucks over 7.5 tonnes saw a 1.5% year-on-year increase in May. All foreign trucks in this group increased their mileage by 3%. The mileage of Polish trucks rose by a similar margin, at 3.3%. Meanwhile, Lithuanian and Romanian transport companies recorded larger increases – 6% and 14.8% respectively.
Looking at the cumulative mileage of trucks over 7.5 tonnes in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in the previous year, the trends are as follows:
- Polish trucks reduced their mileage by 0.6%, to 3.15 billion kilometres.
- Lithuanian trucks increased their mileage by 2.2%, to 0.623 billion kilometres.
- Romanian trucks saw an increase of 3.2%, to 0.533 billion kilometres.
- German trucks recorded a 1.1% decrease, to 9.2 billion kilometres.
