The Romanian road freight transport in 2020

This new study on the Romanian RFT sector in 2020 carried out in cooperation with the Romanian National Union of Road Hauliers, the UNTRR, attests to the significant development of the sector in the space of three years. The main changes are the doubling of the basic minimum wage, the transfer of social security contributions from the employer to employees and increases in travel allowances. As regards RFT activity, the Romanian sector is one of the most active sectors in the European Union when it comes to international long-distance transport. Operating mainly in western Europe, more than 30% of its activity involves transport between third countries, with cabotage accounting for 7% of the total.

Gross pay for Romanian drivers increased from less than 400€ to 565€ in three years, a direct consequence of the doubling of the minimum wage between 2016 and 2020. The daily amount of travel allowances rose to 68€ per day over an average of 22 days per month. Driver mileage has fallen by 6% since the last study, while driver cost has increased by 31%. Overall, the cost of an hour of driving rose to 11.81€, an increase of more than 31% compared to 2017. Take-home pay for drivers increased from 15,227€ to 20,490€ per year (i.e., +34.6%).

There are other cost increases as well: tolls (+37%), maintenance-repairs (+16%) and the cost of vehicle ownership (+12%). The drop in fuel costs (-9%) and vehicle insurance (-12%) are not enough to neutralize the overall effect. 

Overall, the cost per kilometre of a 40-tonne Romanian heavy goods vehicle operating internationally, excluding fixed costs, was 0.76€ compared with 0.64€ in 2017, an increase of 19%. When fixed costs (estimated at around 8% of the total cost) are factored in, the total cost rises to 0.83€ per kilometre in 2020, under the conditions prevailing before the Covid crisis.

CNR invites you to discover this new study which brings details on Romanian RFT with operating conditions in 2020.