The Polish road freight transport sector - 2022

The Polish road haulage sector, the European leader in RFT, is now experiencing a number of structural problems. The war in Ukraine has only exacerbated the ongoing driver shortage that has been affecting the sector for several years. Driver costs to rise by almost 24% between 2019 and 2022, due to pay demands, as well as an overhaul of the system used to determine travel allowances, bonuses and additional paid holidays designed to retain drivers. Successive increases in the minimum wage in 2023 and 2024 - and a further increase planned for 2025 - are expected to bring Polish pay rates closer to those found in southern Europe. 

Per kilometre costs in the Polish sector have soared by 29% in 3 years to over 1€/km. According to forecasts published by ZMPD, the powerful federation of Polish hauliers, this figure is set to reach 1.20€ by the end of 2024. 

Weakened by this trend, Polish hauliers are looking to save money by investing in second-hand equipment and tapping into other new, distant but more abundant Asia based labour pools. Consolidation is also beginning to take place in this sector, which has always been highly fragmented.