Posting of workers in the road freight transport sector

Results
Road freight transport is one of the most cross-border sectors within the EU and therefore also an important sector for posting (temporary work in another Member State). In 2023, an estimated 35 percent of all international road transport operations were carried out in the form of cabotage (domestic transport performed by a foreign haulier) or cross-trade (transport between two Member States other than the country of establishment). These types of operations fall under the specific EU rules (lex specialis) on posting in the road transport sector. Cross-trade accounts for 28 percent of international transport, while cabotage represents approximately 7 percent.

Posting in road transport is largely dominated by Central and Eastern European Member States. Poland and Lithuania are by far the main sending countries. In 2023, nearly 347,000 so-called A1 certificates were issued for drivers working in multiple Member States; two-thirds originated from Poland (66 percent) and almost one-fifth from Lithuania (18 percent). Data from the EU Road Transport Posting Declaration (RTPD) portal confirm this strong position: in 2024, 36 percent of all declarations concerned Poland and 22 percent concerned Lithuania. The main receiving countries are Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria.

In addition, the share of third-country nationals (TCNs) — drivers from outside the EU — is increasing. The number of driver attestations (official documents confirming that a non-EU driver is legally employed by an EU transport operator) rose from just over 44,000 in 2012 to more than 300,000 in 2022. Poland and Lithuania account for a large share of these attestations. This indicates a growing reliance on non-EU drivers in international road transport.

At the same time, insight into compliance remains limited. Although millions of roadside and premises checks are carried out annually on driving and rest times, specific and harmonised data on infringements of posting rules in the road transport sector are lacking. As a result, it is difficult to accurately assess the scale of malpractice, underpayment or abusive arrangements.

The study
This thematic report was prepared as part of POSTING.STAT 2.0 and provides insight into the scale, characteristics and impact of posting in European road transport, as well as into the scale and characteristics of related infringements. POSTING.STAT 2.0 is a European research project that collects and analyses statistical data on intra-EU posting based on national registration data. The project is carried out by a consortium of eleven Member States coordinated by HIVA-KU Leuven and follows the earlier POSTING.STAT project. A country report for the Netherlands was previously published in that context.

Methodology
The study draws on several complementary data sources:

• A1 certificates (in particular those issued under Article 13) concerning applicable social security legislation;
• national prior declaration tools for posting;
• the EU Road Transport Posting Declaration (RTPD) portal;
• Eurostat statistics on cabotage and cross-trade;
• data on driver attestations (for non-EU drivers);
• and inspection and enforcement data where available.