Road Haulage Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031F

Food Beverages is the fastest growing sector, North America is the largest market

The Global Road Haulage Market is projected to expand from USD 7.90 Billion in 2025 to USD 11.33 Billion by 2031, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 6.19%. This industry comprises the commercial transportation of cargo using motor vehicles on public roadways, serving as a vital element of supply chains by moving goods among manufacturing sites, distribution centers, and end users. Key factors fueling this growth include industrial expansion and the modern commercial demand for flexible door-to-door delivery. Furthermore, the capacity of road transport to access areas unreachable by rail or sea cements its essential role in supporting domestic and global trade.

Conversely, a severe scarcity of qualified heavy-vehicle drivers poses a significant hurdle to the industry's ability to scale. This workforce deficiency results in capacity limitations and increased operating costs for logistics providers worldwide. Data from the International Road Transport Union indicates that in 2024, roughly 3.6 million truck driver jobs were vacant across 36 nations, accounting for 70% of the global GDP. This structural labor gap, worsened by shifting demographics, represents a major obstacle that threatens to hinder the sector's capacity to handle growing freight volumes.

Market Drivers

The rapid growth of the global e-commerce industry serves as a major accelerator for the road haulage market, significantly transforming freight distribution models. As reliance on online shopping for both necessities and discretionary items grows, logistics companies are forced to adapt their networks to handle the high-frequency, smaller-volume shipments characteristic of last-mile delivery. This transition requires versatile fleets that can maneuver through urban areas and handle complex reverse logistics needs for returns. Demonstrating this trend, the U.S. Census Bureau reported in August 2025 that retail e-commerce sales rose by 5.3% in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, highlighting the continued need for strong transport capabilities to satisfy digital commerce demands.

Concurrently, increasing cross-border trade and international commerce are fueling significant expansion in long-haul trucking. This trend underscores the vital function of road transport in linking manufacturing centers with global markets, especially within economic zones where road travel offers greater speed and flexibility than maritime or rail options. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics in March 2025, trucks moved $1.0 trillion in cross-border freight within North America in 2024, a 3.6% rise from the prior year. Additionally, Eurostat reported in July 2025 that total road freight in the European Union hit 1.86 trillion tonne-kilometres in 2024, showing a resilient 0.6% increase despite economic challenges.

Market Challenges

A severe shortage of qualified heavy-vehicle drivers operates as a major restriction on the advancement of the Global Road Haulage Market. This lack of labor directly curtails the operational capabilities of logistics firms, compelling them to turn down new freight agreements even as demand from commercial and industrial sectors rises. When carriers do not have enough staff to drive their vehicles, fleet utilization drops, resulting in inevitable supply chain congestion and longer delivery times. Such inefficiency creates a barrier that stops the sector from fully benefiting from manufacturing growth and restricts the total volume of cargo that can be moved through road networks.

Moreover, the aging demographic profile of the current workforce aggravates this issue, posing a long-term threat to market scalability. As the present generation of drivers nears retirement, the industry faces difficulties recruiting younger personnel fast enough to uphold existing service standards. The International Road Transport Union forecasts that the global driver shortage will deteriorate significantly, with unfilled roles expected to hit 7 million by 2028. This expanding disparity between labor availability and transportation needs establishes a structural limit on market expansion, forcing logistics providers to face ongoing capacity hurdles.

Market Trends

The broad implementation of Electric and Hydrogen-Powered Heavy-Duty Trucks is significantly altering fleet makeups as regulators impose tighter emission rules and companies chase ambitious decarbonization goals. This evolution marks a strategic departure from conventional diesel engines in favor of zero-emission technologies, which promise lower total ownership costs via decreased fuel and maintenance expenditures. Manufacturers are quickly ramping up production to satisfy this rising demand, bolstered by the parallel growth of high-power charging networks along key freight routes. As noted in the 'Global EV Outlook 2025' by the International Energy Agency in May 2025, global sales of electric heavy-duty trucks surged by nearly 80% in 2024, largely due to favorable policies and better battery economics.

At the same time, the progression of Autonomous Trucking has advanced from pilot phases to commercial application, presenting a revolutionary fix for safety constraints and operational inefficiencies. This technology permits continuous, round-the-clock haulage on long-distance routes, greatly boosting asset utilization and shortening transit times relative to human-driven vehicles limited by mandatory breaks. Logistics executives are adopting these autonomous systems to improve network reliability and refine fuel usage through precise algorithmic navigation. According to Aurora Innovation's 'Business Review Highlights Q2 2025' released in July 2025, their autonomous driver system had successfully completed over 20,000 driverless miles by the end of June 2025, confirming the viability of self-driving heavy trucks in actual commercial settings.

Key Market Players

• Deutsche Post AG
• Kuehne + Nagel International AG
• Schenker AG
• United Parcel Service, Inc.
• FedEx Corporation
• Ceva Logistics SA
• Nippon Express Co., Ltd.
• CMA CGM Group
• Expeditors International

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Road Haulage Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

Road Haulage Market, by Type:

• International Road Haulage
• Domestic Road Haulage

Road Haulage Market, by Vehicle Type:

• Light Commercial Vehicles
• Heavy Commercial Vehicles

Road Haulage Market, by End User:

• Mining Construction
• Oil Gas
• Food Beverages
• Retail
• Manufacturing
• Healthcare
• Automotive
• Others

Road Haulage Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Road Haulage Market.

Available Customizations:

With the given market data, the publisher offers customizations according to a company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

Company Information

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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