Road freight rates in Europe: how the public indexes work

The Ti, Upply and IRU benchmark

Transport Intelligence (Ti), the freight platform Upply and the IRU publish the European Road Freight Rate Development Benchmark every quarter. It reports one index for contract rates and one for spot rates, together with a commentary on the cost factors behind them, such as fuel and driver availability.

An index is a number relative to a base period, not a price. A higher index means rates on the measured lanes rose against that base; it does not tell you the rate on your lane.

Eurostat producer price indexes for road freight

Eurostat publishes service producer price indexes for freight transport by road and removal services as part of the EU short-term business statistics. They are quarterly, broken down by country, and measure the prices charged by road freight companies.

Because the series cover all road haulage in a country, domestic and international, and include removals, they show the general direction of prices rather than the rate for a specific lane or vehicle.

Spot rates vs contract rates

Contract rates are agreed for a period with a shipper or forwarder for regular volumes. Spot rates are agreed load by load, for example on a freight exchange, and react faster to changes in fuel prices and in the balance between trucks and freight.

Both indexes start from the same base period, so a spot index above the contract index means spot rates have risen faster since then — often a sign that trucks are scarcer on the spot market. Neither index replaces a quote for your lane.

How to use an index when you price a load

1. Start from your own cost per km: fixed costs and running costs divided by all the km you drive, loaded and empty.
2. Add the empty km to the loading place and back, waiting time and road and crossing charges on the route.
3. Add your margin to get the rate for the load and the rate per loaded km.
4. Use the index trend only as context: if spot rates are falling, expect posted prices to move the same way, but do not run below your own cost.

• Stawki transportowe za km (Polish)
• Frachtpreise pro km (German)
• Precio del transporte por km (Spanish)

Posted prices on the European board

Load boards can be browsed without an account. Visitors see the route, dates, equipment and price of each load, but not the poster’s contact details. On the European board each load shows its route, distance and the price the poster offers, and the board works out the price per km from the distance.

Rates are agreed between the poster and the carrier for each load; GigFreight publishes no rate index and no recommended rates. No commission per load. Broker and shipper contact details on a load are shown only to members with a fully paid, active subscription. A trial gives access to the platform but not to load contact details.

• Open the load board
• Return loads in Europe

Frequently asked questions