Despite a weak economy and infrastructure in need of improvement, Romanian road freight transport is recording considerable growth. Here we reveal what the industry and the country’s economy are all about.

With a gross domestic product (GDP) of around 15,000 euros per capita (2022), Romania is in second-last place in the EU. Only Bulgaria performs worse. The unemployment rate in 2022 was 5.6 percent, below the EU average. 18% of the workforce works in agriculture, which is the highest proportion in the EU. The service sector employed around 49.2% of the workforce in 2022.

Growth expected

According to estimates, Romania is set for significant growth: gross domestic product is expected to rise from 281 billion euros in 2022 to 453 billion euros in 2028. This corresponds to an increase of 38.5 percent. GDP per capita is expected to be just under 18,000 euros in 2024, with an unemployment rate of 5.6 percent and an inflation rate of 5.78 percent.

Road freight transport in Romania has grown continuously in recent years. While the sector’s turnover in 2012 was still a mere 5.45 billion euros, a turnover of 12.83 billion is forecast for 2025. This is shared by more than 50,000 transport companies.

Infrastructure is being expanded

The volume of goods transported by road is expected to reach 89.98 billion tonne-kilometres in 2024. This means that road freight transport accounts for the largest share of freight transport in Romania. By comparison, inland waterway transport is expected to generate a turnover of just 96.7 million euros in 2022. Rail transport is also on the decline – turnover here is expected to fall to 708.62 million euros by 2025. Accordingly, the country is investing in the expansion of its road network and railroad lines. 2.27 billion euros are to be spent on this in 2025.

Romania is continuing to expand its road network. Photo: Freepik

This is urgently needed, as the Romanian road network consists mainly of secondary and regional roads with a total length of around 35,100 kilometers. This is followed by other roads with 33,573 kilometers, including unpaved roads. With only 931 kilometers, freeways make up the smallest part of the Romanian road network. It is therefore no wonder that more than 50 percent of Romanians rate the transport infrastructure connecting rural areas with cities as poor. Only 11 percent consider it to be very good.

Significant trade deficit

Romania exported goods worth around 90 billion euros in 2022, while imports amounted to around 124 billion euros. This results in a trade deficit of around 34 billion euros. The most important export goods were electrical machinery, apparatus and equipment (17.1%), road vehicles (16.6%) and machinery and apparatus for various purposes (6.2%). With a share of 19.8%, Germany is Romania’s largest export market and at the same time its most important trading partner, accounting for 17.8% of imports.

As in many other countries, the Romanian transport industry is also struggling with a shortage of drivers. In 2021, around 19 percent of all jobs were unfilled. That’s more than in other European countries.

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