Overall road freight revenues in Spain grew 7.6% last year to EUR 16.9 billion, with road expresstaking an increasing share of the market in line with the European trend, according to a new study
by Madrid-based market researchers DBK.Road express revenues have risen to over EUR 2 billion and now represent around 13% of totalroad freight income, up from 12.3% in 2004, DBK’s data indicates. The growth is a result of growingdemand and rising tariffs.
The research, which looked at the 2004-2006 period, found that road express revenues weregrowing at a greater rate than the road freight market as a whole, reaching over EUR 2 billion in2005 (+8.6%) and EUR 2.2 billion (based on the 2006 growth forecast for the Spanish expressindustry) last year, amounting to one-third of all express sector revenue in the country.
“Express goods transport, delivery within 24 hours, has registered higher growth than themarket average in recent years,” said DBK on publication of the report last week. Of the top fiveroad transport companies in Spain, three had large express operations: Grupo Seur, DHL Iberia andAzkar. Along with freight companies Integra2 and Grupo Buytrago, they accounted for nearly 12% oftotal sales.
The Spanish logistics market as a whole is still highly fragmented, however, with over120,000 “firms” operating in the sector. “In the next few years, the goods transport sector willcontinue to advance slowly in the process of concentration,” DBK says.
The sector, which employs 285,000 people, will remain highly competitive, with largercompanies increasingly diversifying their activities, the report adds, incorporating higher-valueservices and technological innovations in order to improve the quality of offers. Lower fuel priceswill now also lead to less pressure on margins.
Over half of road transport carriers in Spain (52%) were registered in Catalonia, Andalucia,Madrid and the Valencia region. Some 58% of hauliers still operated with just one vehicle, though.Domestic road transport accounted for 87% of revenues, international 13%.
Spain’s overall express market was expected to increase by 8.2% to EUR 6.6 billion in 2006.Portugal’s courier and parcels market is also growing by about 8% per year, DBK says.
