United Kingdom Road Freight Transport Market Size

UK Road Freight Transport Market Analysis

The United Kingdom Road Freight Transport Market size is estimated at 69.23 billion USD in 2024, and is expected to reach 81.69 billion USD by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 2.80% during the forecast period (2024-2030).

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69.23 Billion

Market Size in 2024 (USD)

81.69 Billion

Market Size in 2030 (USD)

2.30 %

CAGR (2017-2023)

2.80 %

CAGR (2024-2030)

Largest Market by Distance

71.48 %

value share, Long Haul, 2023

Trade growth has positively impacted long-haul trucking in the country. For instance, in 2022, exports recorded a growth of 13.22% YoY in the country.

Largest Market by Goods Configuration

73.65 %

value share, Solid Goods, 2023

Solid goods dominate the UK market as industries such as construction, apparel, machinery, electronics, and automobiles are included in the solid goods category.

Largest Market by End User Industry

40.40 %

value share, Manufacturing, 2023

In 2022, the manufacturing sector played a significant role in the United Kingdom's economy, contributing over 8% to the GDP.

Fastest Growing Market by Truckload Specification

3.13 %

Projected CAGR, Less than-Truck-Load (LTL), 2024-2030

Less-than truckload is growing significantly in the UK road freight transport market, as 85% of the domestic freight moved in the country is transported on roads.

First Leading Market Player

1.48 %

market share, Hoyer GmbH, 2022

HOYER has around 39,900 tank containers and over 52,000 Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs). The company also has more than 2,200 trucks equipped with low-pollution engines.

Booming e-commerce sector demand is expected to drive the growth of the road freight transport market

United Kingdom Road Freight Transport Industry Segmentation UK Road Freight Transport Industry Segmentation

Agriculture, Fishing, and Forestry, Construction, Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Mining and Quarrying, Wholesale and Retail Trade, Others are covered as segments by End User Industry. Domestic, International are covered as segments by Destination. Full-Truck-Load (FTL), Less than-Truck-Load (LTL) are covered as segments by Truckload Specification. Containerized, Non-Containerized are covered as segments by Containerization. Long Haul, Short Haul are covered as segments by Distance. Fluid Goods, Solid Goods are covered as segments by Goods Configuration. Non-Temperature Controlled, Temperature Controlled are covered as segments by Temperature Control.

• In 2022, the manufacturing sector played a significant role in the United Kingdom's economy, contributing over 8% to the GDP, equivalent to around USD 270 billion. The dominant subset within manufacturing was consumer goods, commanding a substantial 72% share of market revenue. Some of the major players in road transportation are Deutsche Post DHL Group, FedEx, Turners (Soham) Limited, United Parcel Service (UPS), and Wincanton PLC.
• With the new Smart Manufacturing Data Hub (SMDH), the UK government hopes to boost the "productivity and competitiveness" of manufacturing SMEs. The new hub and testbed are supported by USD 67.44 million in government funds and business co-investment. The funding is from the USD 404.68 million Made Smarter Innovation Challenge, which is intended to support the development and increased use of new and existing industrial digital technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Increased investment in this sector will have a direct impact on the road transport market.
• The thriving e-commerce industry in Europe is bolstering the retail sector in the UK. In the realm of retail, online sales made up an impressive 30% of the total retail sales in the nation in 2021, a figure more than double compared to a decade ago. The outbreak of the coronavirus in 2020 led to a remarkable 47% surge in internet retail sales, marking the swiftest increase rate in the past decade. Although this rapid expansion was primarily influenced by the pandemic, the UK's e-commerce revenue is projected to experience consistent growth in the upcoming years across all market segments.