Teleroute Report 2025–2026: the transport market in Europe – analysis and outlook

The European transport market in 2025: between recovery and redesign
 

The transport industry at a turning point

The year 2025 marked a transition for European logistics – from reacting to successive crises to the increasingly deliberate design of operational resilience. After years of disruption caused by the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, geopolitical tensions, inflation and broken supply chains, transport companies and shippers are now operating in a fundamentally new market environment. 

It is a reality in which stability can no longer be taken for granted, and competitive advantage is built by organisations capable of managing volatility, resource availability and operating costs. 

As highlighted in the report “Logistics in the Age of Disruption – Trends for 2026”, prepared by Alpega in cooperation with, among others, DXC Technology, 4flow, Customs Support Group and Prewave, the transport industry has entered a phase of operational maturity. Resilience is no longer improvised – it is becoming an integral part of supply chain architecture. 

What to know about the 2025–2026 transport market 

• Strong demand and rising costs define 2025–2026 logistics 
• Driver shortages are a growing structural risk 
• Freight exchanges like Teleroute increase stability and profits 
• 2026 success depends on productivity, optimization and flexibility  
• Winners are designing resilient networks, not just reacting 

Industrial production in Europe and its impact on transport demand

European data for 2025 confirms a gradual improvement in industrial conditions. After a weak 2024 – particularly challenging for manufacturing in Western Europe – subsequent months of 2025 brought signals of stabilisation and moderate growth. 

At the European Union level, industrial production began to increase year-on-year in spring 2025, while the second half of the year delivered a clearer rebound, driven in part by the electronics sector and machinery manufacturing. 

This economic context had a direct impact on the transport market and activity on freight exchanges. 

The transport market in numbers: data from the Teleroute exchange in 2025

Demand grows faster than supply – efficiency determines performance

The market picture is clear: demand for transport – especially international transport – grew faster than vehicle availability. At the same time, 2025 was marked by further increases in operating costs, including fuel, road tolls, social security contributions and minimum wages. This situation is far from over. 

Data from Alpega’s international network of transport exchanges – Teleroute, Wtransnet and 123cargo – reflect broader economic conditions and show that 2025 was a period of strong demand growth combined with constrained transport capacity. 

Comparison: full year 2025 vs 2024 

• Number of freight offers: +30.7% YoY 
  – domestic: +16.5% 
  – international: +40.4% 
• Number of vehicle offers: –2.5% 
  – domestic: –3.9% 
  – international: –0.5% 
• Freight offer consultations: –1.9% 
  – domestic: –4.1% 
  – international: –0.4% 
• Vehicle offer consultations: +0.9% 
  – domestic: +5.8% 
  – international: –4.8% 

Cost pressure has not disappeared. What has changed is how the strongest market players are able to mitigate it – through productivity, scale and access to stable demand. This confirms the structural supply-side challenges linked to driver shortages and carriers’ investment caution. 

Q4 2025: acceleration at year-end

The final quarter of 2025 further reinforced these trends: 

• Freight offers: +34% YoY 
  – domestic: +31.4% 
  – international: +35.4% 
• Available loading capacity offers: +7.3% 
  – domestic: +7.8% 
  – international: +6.8% 
• Freight offer consultations: approx. +2% 
• Vehicle offer consultations: –10.9% 

The year-end data confirm the persistent demand–supply imbalance, which – in the absence of structural change – may continue into 2026. 

With Teleroute, profits only grow.

Driver shortages in Europe as a structural risk

The shortage of drivers in road transport is structural rather than cyclical. According to the International Road Transport Union (IRU), Europe faced a shortfall of 426,000 drivers in 2024, up from 233,000 the year before. If current trends continue, the gap could exceed 700,000 vacancies by 2028. 

Industry data also point to a growing generational gap: around one third of drivers are over 55 years old, implying increasing wage pressure, higher turnover and a greater risk of operational errors. 

In this context, 2026 is shaping up as a year in which more companies will compete not on freight rates, but on productivity – through better route planning, technological support and more stable work organisation. 

Five trends shaping the transport market in 2026
 

1. Regionalization and digital visibility 
   As many as 64% of manufacturers have already regionalized production or are in the process of moving it closer to end markets. This is accompanied by investments in predictive analytics and end-to-end supply chain visibility. 
2. Compliance as a strategic capability 
   For 74% of shippers, trade policy volatility is among the biggest risks. Regulations such as EUDR, CBAM and ESG are becoming sources of competitive advantage. 
3. AI as decision support 
   Artificial intelligence is increasingly acting as a “co-pilot” in logistics – from demand forecasting and ETA prediction to exception management. 
4. Labour shortages and automation 
   71% of carriers identify driver shortages as the greatest risk in 2026. Automation and efficiency-enhancing tools are becoming the primary response. 
5. Decarbonisation by design 
   Although only 6% of companies cite sustainability as a top priority, market leaders are already integrating CO₂ emissions into operational decision-making. 

The role of the Teleroute freight exchange amid rising costs

As emphasised by Joanna Zielińska: 

“In an environment of rising costs and driver shortages, real competitive advantage no longer comes from aggressive price competition, but from access to a liquid market and tools that increase productivity. Exchanges such as Teleroute enable carriers to monetise capacity faster, reduce empty runs and stabilise revenues – and this will be crucial in 2026.” 

With Teleroute, profits only grow.

Conclusions for 2026: design instead of firefighting

All observations lead to one conclusion: the leaders of 2026 will be organisations that are already investing in integrated TMS platforms, secure carrier networks, interoperable data and partnership-based operating models. Short-term firefighting is no longer sufficient – long-term operational resilience is becoming the decisive factor.