Road haulage industry

Use our industry guide to find key background information, market research, import and export guidelines, statistics, legislation, trade bodies and trade publications.

The Business & Industry Guides series is produced by the Library & Information Service for ICAEW members and ACA students.

We can compile tailored key players reports, mailing lists, market reports, benchmarking reports and industry news. Our enquiry team can also research other industry-specific information, such as taxation, for you. Call us on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or email library@icaew.com.

Trends and forecasts

Online articles

The library provides full access to articles from leading business, finance and management journals.

View the latest updates on trends and forecasts in trucking, freight and freightage

Access to articles is provided subject to suppliers’ terms of use.

Croner-i Business Focus

Business Focus is a resource that provides Industry Snaphots for a range of sectors. These contain an overview of developments, trends and statistics for the industry together with an outlook for the future. Sectors covered include road haulage.

To find out more about Business Focus, please contact our enquiry team on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or at library@icaew.com.

Useful links

Transportation & Logistics Trends 2019
Annual publication from PwC Strategy& looking at major trends, challenges and opportunities for transportation and logistics companies globally.

Shifting patterns: The future of the logistics industry
Paper from PwC on key areas of disruption facing transportation and logistics companies. These include new technology, new market entrants, new customer expectations and new business models. Discusses the implications for companies and possible futures for the industry. Published in 2016.

KPMG Transport Tracker
Regular bulletin covering key global transport market indicators and trends across shipping and sea freight, aviation and express logistics.

Market research

Market research reports focusing on this business sector are available from a number of market research specialists. In most cases these reports are available to fee-paying subscribers or on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Industry profiles

Industry profiles give an overview of market size in different countries or regions, the competitive landscape and provide a forecast of market performance. These profiles are available exclusively for ICAEW members and ACA students through the Library & Information Service.

If you’re looking for industry profiles for regions or countries not listed above, please contact the Library on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or email library@icaew.com.

If you experience any problems accessing these resources, please see our online resources troubleshooting FAQ.

Other market research specialists

Some free information is available from the following market research specialists, ranging from industry news to executive summaries of the reports.

Euromonitor
A full listing of reference products and research reports for the transport, storage and communications industry from Euromonitor, with a range of global, country and company level reports. Each report provides a contents listing and a useful executive summary reporting on the key trends in each country report.

IBISWorld
Business and industry research specialists offering reports on a wide range of sectors, including freight road transport. Report snapshots, table of contents and a sample report are available. The company also produces global industry research reports.

Mintel
Report from Mintel covering the UK road haulage services. The website includes a summary and the option to view a contents listing.

Industry news

Need to find the latest news on this industry sector? We can carry out industry news searches using a range of trade titles and general business sources through our databases. To discuss your requirements, please contact the enquiry team on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or at library@icaew.com.

Statistics on the UK

Department for Transport

The Department for Transport publishes Transport Statistics Great Britain, an annual compendium of data. Figures include:

domestic freight transport by mode
domestic freight transport by commodity
goods lifted and moved
international road haulage by UK-registered vehicles
goods lifted to the UK by foreign-registered HGVs.

Office for National Statistics

The Annual Business Survey (ABS) from the Office for National Statistics collects financial information covering UK production, construction, distribution and service industries. Statistics available include:

number of enterprises;
total turnover;
approximate gross value added at basic prices;
total purchases of goods, materials and services;
total employment costs;
total net capital expenditure;
total net capital expenditure – acquisitions;
total net capital expenditure – disposals;
total stocks and work in progress – value at end of year;
total stocks and work in progress – value at beginning of year;
total stocks and work in progress – increase during year.

The dataset Non-financial business economy, UK: Sections A to S includes statistics for:

Freight transport by road (49.41)
See Section H: Transport and storage

Statistics on Europe

Eurostat

Eurostat, the EU statistics hub, collates detailed Structural Business Statistics giving the latest figures for industry, construction, trade and services by sector and country. The indicators available include:

number of enterprises
turnover or gross premiums written
production value
value added at factor cost
gross operating surplus
wages and salaries
social security costs
gross investment in tangible goods
gross investment in land
gross investment in existing buildings and structures
gross investment in construction and alteration of buildings
gross investment in machinery and equipment
number of employees
number of persons employed per enterprise.

Statistics within the database are available for:

Freight transport by road (H4941)
See database section ‘SBS – services’

Employment

UK

The Office for National Statistics publication Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) includes average employment costs within this sector which can be found in Table 14. Average employment costs are provided for full-time employees, part-time employees and all employees.

The data includes average employment costs for heavy goods vehicle drivers.

The annual Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), published by the Office for National Statistics, includes total employee and employment estimates for different industries for Great Britain and the UK. Figures are broken down to show full-time/part-time and public/private splits. The dataset Industry – Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES): Table 2 includes statistics for:

Freight transport by road (49410)

Other regions

Please see individual country profile pages for links to sources of national statistics.

Legislation and regulation

UK

Gov.uk provides some guidance on the main legislation applicable to various sectors, including regulations for drivers of lorries, buses and goods vehicles.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a section on haulage and distribution, which includes the latest health and safety regulations affecting this industry.

Europe

Gov.uk also provides details on the new rules for international road haulage in 2022 and transport and travel guidance for working and travelling to the EU. They have also published a Simple guide which takes you through the stages involved in moving goods, covering: pre-journey documentation; documentation required when picking up goods; formalities at the EU and UK borders; and requirements after leaving the port. Also provides information on upcoming changes to international haulage in 2022 with links to further guidance.

UK business guides

Croner-i Business Focus

Business Focus is a resource that provides practical information on many small business trades and sectors. Its Business Opportunity Profiles offer detailed insights into market conditions, legal issues and the trading environment for a range of businesses. They include:

Road haulage firm

To find out more about Business Focus, please contact our enquiry team on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or at library@icaew.com.

UK key players, ratios and trends

We can produce reports on this sector using selected information from the FAME company database. Reports are available for:

Freight transport by road
UK SIC (2007) Code 49.41

Summaries of the three types of report we can produce are given below. You can find further information, a sample report, pricing details and an online order form on our industry sector reports page.

We also operate a bespoke reports service with results tailored to your specifications. Please contact our enquiry team on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or at library@icaew.com to discuss your requirements.

Key players report

Our key players report looks at the top companies (by turnover) in any one of the segments within this sector. Reports usually include the top 100 companies but in more specialised sectors with fewer than 100 companies we show all companies with disclosed figures. The reports provide data on 11 comparative fields for the last available year, including:

turnover;
profit margins;
returns on shareholder funds;
solvency ratios
number of employees.

Our reports enable easy comparison of the top companies in this sector against each other and against the sector median, average and standard deviation in each of the 11 fields.

Mailing list

A separate mailing list report is also available with address and contact details for the top companies in any of the segments within this sector.

Market reports

Our market reports look at the aggregated data for the top companies (by turnover) for any of the segments within this sector across all the fields usually found in a company report. The reports include data for the last 10 years* and enables easy comparison of trends for the whole sector. Reports usually include the top 100 companies but in more specialised sectors with fewer than 100 companies we show all companies with disclosed figures.

*Please note the number of companies for which data is aggregated will vary for any given year.

The market reports include sections on:

key financials and employees;
profit and loss account;
balance sheet;
cash flow statement;
financial ratios;
financial trends and changes;
profitability trends and changes.

Valuation

BVB Insights
Annual report providing the latest transaction multiples broken down by industry. Each section includes a summary of recent deals with EBITDA, average transaction size and expert analysis of current trends within each industry.
The road haulage industry is classified as 'transport/trucking and logistics' and has its own transaction multiples under 'industrials'.

ICAEW members, ACA students and Forensic/Valuation Group subscribers can download an overview of the report with headline industry multiples. Information on individual deals can be supplied by the Library on request.

UK benchmarking

We offer benchmarking reports that can be used to inform your own business strategy or help you identify value-added services to offer to your clients.

Contact the enquiry team directly on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or at library@icaew.com for a report tailored to your own specific requirements.

Trade bodies

The websites of trade bodies in this sector are a useful source of industry overviews, contacts and statistics.

UK

Europe

Oceania

Australian Trucking Association (ATA)

Global

FIATA provides a directory of association members listed by country.

Trade journals and publications

Trade journals, B2B magazines and specialist consumer magazines are another useful source of news and statistics.