France imports: transport services
France imports: transport services stood at 57,339 EUR million in 2025, according to INSEE – Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (BDM). It is one of the indicators in the Annual national accounts table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 1949 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Annual national accounts table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imports of goods and services | |||||||||||
| Transportation and storage | 57,339 | 56,417 | 56,278 | 54,588 | 40,875 | 35,825 | 44,048 | 42,631 | 40,361 | 38,079 | |
| All products (new classification) | 1,023,790 | 1,007,691 | 1,024,110 | 1,044,267 | 815,144 | 702,013 | 815,748 | 798,098 | 758,180 | 710,713 |
Understanding france imports: transport services
Purchases of international freight hauling, passenger transit, warehousing facilities, postal activities, and courier services from non-resident operators are documented in this national accounts line. The metric quantifies the total expenditure on moving goods and people across borders, as well as auxiliary logistics services provided by foreign transport providers. It excludes the physical goods being transported, isolating the logistics service fee paid to shipping lines, airlines, rail operators, and logistics firms.
Evaluating these figures requires accounting for fluctuations in international freight rates and fuel surcharges, which can cause significant value shifts independent of cargo tonnage. Seasonal patterns tied to tourism and peak shipping periods influence the data, though annual aggregation smooths out intra-year volatility. Revisions to early estimates often follow the processing of specialized international transport enterprise surveys. Comparing this metric with total merchandise trade provides a measure of logistics intensity and shipping cost burdens on international commerce.
Frequently asked questions
- Are the values of the goods being shipped included in this series?
- No, this series only covers the transport and logistics service fees, not the value of the physical cargo itself.
- How do freight rate changes affect the data?
- Shifts in global shipping tariffs and fuel surcharges alter monetary values without necessarily reflecting changes in the physical volume of cargo moved.
- Why is this measure useful alongside merchandise trade data?
- It reveals the transportation costs and logistics dependency associated with moving imports and exports across borders.