{"id":6088,"date":"2026-09-16T13:21:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T10:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/polish-road-haulage-success-story-hits-the-buffers\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T13:21:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T10:21:40","slug":"polish-road-haulage-success-story-hits-the-buffers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/polish-road-haulage-success-story-hits-the-buffers\/","title":{"rendered":"Polish road haulage success story hits the buffers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"dreamstime_xs_296809256\"\n

Poland-Ukraine border \u00a9 Bumbleedee<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Following Poland\u2019s accession to EU membership in 2004, its road haulage sector underwent a meteoric rise to the top. Business tripled and its truckers became European leaders with an estimated market share of 20%.<\/p>\n

Just over two decades on, the picture is radically different.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re operating with no profit margin and hoping for a miracle,\u201d said Jan Buczek, president of the Alliance of Polish International Road Hauliers (ZMPD), who was one of the authors of a recent report published by the Polish Economic Institute (PEI) on the current state of the sector.<\/p>\n

Since 2020, Polish hauliers have faced a series of setbacks, but in the first half 2026 a new low was reached with more than 1,000 Polish companies reported to have gone into administration.<\/p>\n

The operating cost advantage it enjoyed in relation to western Europe counterparts has gradually evaporated as a result of Poland\u2019s growing economic prosperity. The country\u2019s minimum wage has almost doubled since the start of the current decade.<\/p>\n

This has significantly reduced profit margins which are already under pressure from competition within the EU \u2013 Lithuania and Romania in particular \u2013 as well as from outside the EU.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lack of oversight; some companies without European licences are operating in our market,\u201d said Mr Buczek. \u201cWe are sometimes offered prices that do not even cover our costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the main concerns for Polish haulers is competition from their Ukrainian counterparts. Following Russia\u2019s invasion in February 2022, Ukrainian hauliers were granted the right to operate more freely within the EU but without having to respect the operating regulations in force in the 27-member bloc.<\/p>\n

It has led to them taking a large share of the Poland-Ukraine trade which has triggered sporadic protests from Polish hauliers in the form of blocking the border between the two states.<\/p>\n

Hardest-hit have been haulage firms in eastern Poland who have seen their business with Belarus and Russia shrink considerably due to sanctions.<\/p>\n

The environmental measures set out in the EU Mobility Package and the reforms to the ETS carbon quota system scheduled to take effect in 2027, are also weighing on Polish hauliers.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolish companies are particularly affected by these measures, given their often ageing and high-emission fleets. The medium-term impact is arguably greater than competition from Ukraine,\u201d said Jan Strzelecki, one of the authors of the PEI report.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the sector\u2019s highly fragmented, SME ecosystem, with more than 80% of firms operating with fewer than 10 trucks, together with the difficult economic climate, leave little scope to invest in electrification, he warned.<\/p>\n

Like the rest of the EU, Poland is also having to cope with a severe shortage of truck drivers. Attracting young people to the profession is a particular challenge with under-25s only accounting for 3% of drivers, in contrast to one-third being over 55.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs living standards have risen, attitudes towards work have changed,\u201d Mr Buczek noted.<\/p>\n

The ZMPD estimates that there is a shortfall of 100,000 drivers in Poland.<\/p>\n

In order to recruit drivers, Polish haulage firms are looking abroad, with \u00a0candidates more than likely to be drawn from Ukraine or Belarus. However, in recent months this has been expanded to include countries further afield, in Asia and Africa.<\/p>\n

Indeed, simplifying the administrative procedures for recruiting foreign workers has now become one of the sector\u2019s main demands.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Poland-Ukraine border \u00a9 Bumbleedee 16 September 2026 Following Poland\u2019s accession to EU membership in 2004, its road haulage sector underwent a meteoric rise to the top. Business tripled and its truckers became European leaders with an estimated market share of 20%. Just over two decades on, the picture is radically different. \u201cWe\u2019re operating with no 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border \u00a9 Bumbleedee 16 September 2026 Following Poland\u2019s accession to EU membership in 2004, its road haulage sector underwent a meteoric rise to the top. Business tripled and its truckers became European leaders with an estimated market share of 20%. Just over two decades on, the picture is radically different. \u201cWe\u2019re operating with no…","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phf4fX-1Ac","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/662c8e834b754440c7dd429807866200-680x0-c-default-exq5ac.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/280549882"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}