France road freight: cabotage abroad
France road freight: cabotage abroad stood at 162 million tonne-km in Q4 2025, according to Eurostat – road freight transport by type of operation, quarterly (road_go_tq_tott). It is one of the indicators in the Road freight transport (quarterly) table (Value · Quarterly), with a complete series running from Q1 1999 to Q4 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Road freight transport (quarterly) table
| Indicator | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | Q4-2023 | Q3-2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total road freight (tonne-kilometres) | 44,533 | 41,495 | 43,516 | 43,363 | 44,274 | 42,461 | 43,277 | 44,003 | 43,313 | 39,659 | |
| Cabotage abroad | 162 | 137 | 144 | 125 | 137 | 113 | 175 | 151 | 142 | 82 | |
| Empty journeys | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Understanding france road freight: cabotage abroad
Cabotage abroad tracks transport performance generated when domestic road haul carriers execute domestic freight transport within the borders of another foreign country. This metric calculates tonne-kilometres for loaded journeys performed entirely outside the home territory, isolating temporary haulage operations authorized under specific international transport agreements. It differs from cross-trade, which involves hauling between two different foreign nations, and from domestic transport restricted to the home market. Unladen trips associated with these foreign internal hauls and standard international transits are omitted from this particular total.
Reading these figures necessitates caution regarding regulatory changes in foreign transport markets and annual permit allocations. Seasonal patterns reflect local economic activity and harvest periods within destination countries rather than domestic industrial cycles. Analysts should examine year-on-year changes to bypass transient weather or administrative delays, avoiding direct comparison with domestic tonnage measures which follow entirely different regulatory frameworks. Revisions to these estimates appear when foreign transport authorities finalize administrative reporting from visiting hauliers.
Frequently asked questions
- What defines cabotage abroad in freight transport statistics?
- Internal transport operations performed within a foreign country by a domestic carrier.
- Is cabotage included in standard international transport totals?
- No, cabotage involves internal movements within another nation, whereas international transport crosses borders.
- Why might cabotage figures experience sudden data revisions?
- Delayed reporting of foreign transport permits and administrative processing by partner countries cause revisions.