The full results of the survey on long-distance road freight transport carried out in 2025 by French contract hauliers.

In 2025, the key indicators of vehicle activity are set to decline. The vehicle production indicator calculated by the CNR is expected to fall by –0.9 % between 2024 and 2025. The shortfall in activity compared with 2019 – the last full year before the Covid crisis – now stands at –11.9 %.

Faced with this sluggish activity, companies have postponed their investments. In 2025, the tractor fleet renewal rate reached its lowest level in 10 years, falling by 4.6 percentage points year-on-year.

The year 2025 was also characterised by rising costs, excluding diesel. Among the cost items continuing the inflationary trend observed over several years are drivers’ costs (+1.2 % for average gross pay and +1.3 % for daily travel allowances), maintenance and repair costs (+3.9 %) and fleet insurance costs (+4.7 %). As for the cost of tractors, the figure for 2025, at –2%, appears to be a limited correction following five years of record increases (+28 % between 2019 and 2025).

In the longer term, the survey results reveal some profound changes in terms of productivity and costs. The production indicator for a vehicle has fallen by –14.9 % since 2007, the last full year before the 2008/2009 crisis. Vehicle diesel consumption is falling steadily: – 8 % between 2015 and 2025. Drivers’ pay has risen by + 31 % over the last 10 years, a higher rate of increase than that of the minimum wage over the same period (+ 23.6 %).