Bulgarian road freight transport (RFT) is mainly focused on international trade, accounting for more than 77% of its total activity. International trade between third countries alone accounts for more than 44% of its total activity. In the latest European CNR ranking, Bulgaria ranks fourth in this activity. However, the Covid crisis in 2020-2021 and the consequences of the Mobility Package seem to have had a negative impact on the activity of Bulgarian hauliers. The latter are said to be favouring closer markets. This results in a lower annual mileage for Bulgarian heavy goods vehicles than in the last study, 129,500 km/year in 2021 compared to 150,600 km/year in 2015. The same is true for the annual mileage of Bulgarian drivers assigned to international routes, which has fallen from 140,800 km/year in 2015 to 124,500 km/year in 2021. These drivers seem to be returning home more often, on average every two weeks compared to five to six weeks on average in 2015. The cost of drivers is increasing over the period, from €15,859/year in 2015 to €20,061/year in 2021, an increase of 26.5% in six years. This is due to increases in the minimum wage and travel allowances. 

Significant changes have also been observed in other cost items. This is the case for tolls (+40.1% in 2015), maintenance and repairs (+24.5% in 2015) and ownership costs (+17% in 2015). Conversely, the cost of tyres has fallen sharply since 2015, down 29.1% year-on-year, which can be explained in particular by the special attention paid to this item by Bulgarian hauliers.

Overall, in 2021, the total cost of a Bulgarian heavy goods vehicle operating internationally stands at €0.84/km. Compared to the CNR study from 2015, the cost price has increased by more than +25%.