Road freight volumes continued to grow in 2020, while goods transport by other modes slowed down compared to the 2017-2019 baseline period, according to new data from the International Transport Forum.

Inland freight transport

Only 15 of the 36 ITF countries with available 2020 data showed a decrease in road freight, while 19 countries showed increases over the same period. Road freight in Azerbaijan dropped the most among ITF (-48%), followed by Portugal (-26%), Estonia (-23%) and Hungary (-16%). The Czech Republic, on the contrary, had the largest increase (+35%), followed by Poland (+23%), Lithuania (+22%), Serbia and Bulgaria (both +18%).

Road safety

While most regions succeeded in reducing the number of road fatalities since 2010, the decline has been more pronounced in 2020, undoubtedly linked to travel restrictions during the pandemic.

The European Union, associated with Turkey, is the region with the most significant decrease in fatalities between 2020 and the baseline period (-20%), followed by Japan and Korea (-18%), Israel and Chile and Mexico (both -12%).

The only region where road deaths increased in 2020 compared to the baseline period is USA and Canada, with a 5% increase for the whole area, led by the USA (+5% compared to -6% for Canada).