Road transport is the European economy’s lifeblood and Polish hauliers are a key part of it.

Road transport is of great importance to the Polish and European economies. The research agency Transport Intelligence forecasts that the European road transport market will grow by 1.7 per cent in 2024.(1) According to a Eurostat report (2), the share of Polish hauliers in the EU market will also increase. In 2022, 20.1 per cent of transports within the European Union, calculated in tonne-kilometres, were carried out by lorries registered in Poland, compared to 19.8 per cent a year earlier. In recent years, however, international transport has posed many challenges for hauliers. New regulations, both EU and national, changing conditions, the tense geopolitical situation and security issues are causing considerable problems for less experienced operators.

According to Statistics Poland, Polish exports expressed in dollars amounted to USD 318.0 billion in 2023. The largest market for products from Poland is the European Union, particularly Germany (28 per cent share), Czech Republic (6.3 per cent) and France (6.1 per cent). Moreover, the level of exports increased year-on-year by 4.1 per cent. (3) As can be seen, Polish entrepreneurs are consistently developing their sales and conquering more markets. There is also a slow trend towards the relocation of factories from the old EU countries to Poland. This is economically beneficial for producers, but will also increase the demand for transport. In the face of so much competition, the choice of logistics operator can be crucial to relationships with business partners. It is worth remembering that in international dealings, it is the carrier who is most often in contact with the recipient of our goods.

Reliability and frequency of transport is therefore key. Regular lines and a fixed route schedule are a good basis to help optimise logistics operations. The most regular traffic can of course be seen on the roads leading to Germany.  “We make around 1,000 transports between Poland and Germany every month. We carry out shipments to all German states. In addition, we offer cabotage transports in that area,” confirms Magdalena Wójcik, Senior Business Development Manager at FM Logistic CE. Fixed routes, while combining deliveries to several customers, is an excellent solution for small volumes. Consolidating the loads of different customers in a single run is a major cost optimisation, and regular, high-frequency transports are a guarantee of fast order fulfilment for the manufacturer or distributor.

In addition to fixed routes, operators also make dedicated journeys to meet the needs of specific customers. The choice depends on the volume, purpose and stage of development of the exporter’s business.

Regardless of the scale of the business, the volume of cargo or the frequency of orders, an experienced logistics operator is an essential partner for the exporter, whose professionalism and know-how can directly contribute to the development of the client’s business.

Poland’s most popular export commodities include: machinery, appliances and transport equipment (38.2 per cent), industrial goods e.g. construction materials, paper or clothing products (16.9 per cent), miscellaneous industrial goods (16.3), food and live animals (11.9 per cent) and chemicals and related products (9.2 per cent). Similarly, the leading imported goods looks similar. Appropriate conditions, including controlled temperatures, are required for the transport of many of these products. It is therefore worth noting what kind of fleet is available to the logistics operator to whom transport is outsourced.

The quality of the fleet and the experience and training of the drivers also have a huge impact on cargo safety. As figures from the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) show, it is Western European countries, especially the UK and Germany, that record the highest number of attempted thefts of goods in transport. In addition to choosing the safest routes and complying with security procedures, responsible logistics operators use innovative solutions to control transport

Such tools allow the operator to react immediately to any worrying change and prevent theft or notify the relevant services in time. This is particularly important in the case of high-value goods, with a high unit value.

The comprehensive transport service that manufacturers and distributors now expect goes far beyond simply transporting goods from point A to point B. Leading operators also offer a range of additional services. In the case of groupage transport, it is primarily short-term storage in transshipment warehouses, which allows the consolidation of shipments of different customers and optimisation of costs. Another is stand-by-trailer service. “This means a semi-trailer left at the customer’s yard, which is loaded often at non-standard times and collected within a designated time window. Such solutions are ideal for the fashion sector, where orders flow around the clock. The service guarantees optimised loading and speeds up delivery to the customer in the shop,” explains Magdalena Wójcik from FM Logitistic. In the case of particularly demanding industries, such as pharmaceuticals, as well as e-commerce, operators offer two-person driver teams, which makes it possible to cover thousands of kilometres uninterrupted and significantly speed up delivery times.

A wide and varied range of services, a high-quality fleet, innovative safety features and experienced drivers are a combination that guarantees efficient and precise international transport for distributors and manufacturers, whether they have been serving foreign markets for years or are just starting out. Timely, well-planned and secure deliveries can make a real difference to a company’s growth, as they are the greatest assets in building business with foreign partners.

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(1) https://www.ti-insight.com/product/european-road-freight-transport/
(2) https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-key-figures/w/ks-he-23-001
(3) Dane za okres od stycznia do października 2023 r.;  https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/ceny-handel/handel/obroty-towarowe-handlu-zagranicznego-ogolem-i-wedlug-krajow-w-okresie-styczen-pazdziernik-2023-roku,1,135.html