DSV Road: With 2,000 km of highway in Romania, the freight industry could grow by 38%

DSV Road, the third largest freight transport company in Romania and Europe, estimates that the road freight industry could grow by 38% due to the expansion of highways up to 2,000 km. Also, Romania’s trade with EU countries could intensify, and the volume of transported goods could double in this sense in the coming years.

The year 2023 marked the achievement of the milestone of 1,000 km of highway in Romania, and another 1,000 km are being prepared for the next 6 years. The impact of a complete highway network will be a major one on the transport sector and will be multiplied on other branches of the economy as well, given that 70% of goods are transported by road in Romania, according to INS data from 2022.

Also, an important effect of the expansion of highways will be on the export of goods, which could experience accelerated growth. Among the most important destinations for Romania’s road freight transport are Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, according to DSV Road data.

“Romania’s trade exchanges with other European states are on an upward trend, but we will be able to add another 38% to this organic growth only thanks to the highway network. It is a chapter that Romania has suffered for a long time, and if at the end of this decade, we will have all 2,000 km in traffic, then we will realize how much we have missed this infrastructure. Motorways increase speed and transport capacity, decrease transit times and implicitly CO2emissions, help us cover all areas of the country more quickly, so some regions, such as Moldova, will have access to major investments and development”, says Sergiu Iordache, Managing Director DSV Road.

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Among the main advantages identified by the company, regarding the impact of highways on the goods transport sector, are:

• Increasing the transport speed, from around 50km/h currently to around 80km/h

• Increase exports and imports by 10%

• Increase the carrying capacity for a shot by at least 20%

• Impact on economic growth through more efficient transport due to higher volumes

• Faster coverage of areas with growth potential, such as Moldova

• Reducing CO2 emissions and fitting into ESG objectives for companies

• Increased accuracy in cargo transit time, which will further facilitate the development of real-time cargo tracking solutions such as DSV Road

“These factors can be improved even more when Romania will accede to the Schengen Area. And the need for a well-developed railway network is also a chapter that could greatly help transport. Easy access to the EU market is perhaps the biggest economic benefit that Romania can have as an EU member. However, to fully enjoy this benefit, the infrastructure must remain a country project in the years to come”, points out Mihai Teodorescu, Country Road General Manager Romania and Sustainability Ambassador within DSV Road.

According to the company, joining the Schengen Area could bring savings of 30% for each transport that crosses the border, given that currently the losses are estimated at around 2.4 billion euros annually, according to the National Union of Road Transporters of Romania (UNTRR).

Among the most requested types of transport on the Romanian market are groupage, where DSV Road registered a 30% increase in the first part of the year, and intermodal, with an advance of 50%. Intermodal, which includes an important component of rail transport, helps reduce CO2emissions by as much as 70%.