This report analyses all the operating conditions and costs of French 40-tonne heavy goods vehicles engaged in long-distance transport on behalf of third parties.

New for 2015, the CNR explores the logistics activities of the companies in the panel surveyed.
The detailed results by employee category and vehicle mileage class are supplemented by numerous comments providing a better understanding of the players in the road haulage sector.

The main finding of the 2015 survey is that business activity is returning to (modest) growth. The activity indicator for the fleet of 40-tonne vehicles operating over long distances increased by +2.6 % between the fourth quarter of 2014 and the fourth quarter of 2015. It should be noted that we are still far from pre-crisis levels (11 % lower than in 2007).
However, this upturn in activity is not shared by all companies and mainly concerns the largest companies in the sample (with 50 or more employees).

The 2015 financial year was also marked by a boom in fleet renewal. The market for new heavy goods vehicle sales picked up again in 2015.

Cost components (excluding diesel fuel) are relatively stable. Most of them (drivers' wages, tolls, maintenance, insurance and overheads) varied little in 2015.