A report just published by Transport Intelligence (Ti), has estimated that European road transport will be down between 5% and 17% on last year following the social lockdown measures introduced across the continent.  With the original estimate being 2% growth, the larger downturn prediction equates to a revised negative swing of almost 20% and is based on lockdowns continuing for many weeks.

The majority of the downturn relates to the big five European markets – the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain – all of whom have been dramatically impacted by the spread of the virus.

While the pandemic has resulted in much uncertainty in its own right, Brexit still looms in the background.

It is difficult to imagine, as the events of the last 2 months have unfolded, that UK and European governments have been able to focus as heavily on trade negotiations as they would have liked. We are led to understand that negotiations are continuing by video conference, although some senior politicians have called for a delay in Brexit by up to 2 years.

Taking into consideration the previous years of Brexit uncertainty, the current European lockdowns and what impact that may have on any trade negotiations, if the lower end of the predicted downturn (5%) is achieved this year, then perhaps the European road freight industry should consider this a major accomplishment.