In 2022, the number of carriers in Romania was approximately the same as in 2021, 41,535, compared to 41,132 companies with NACE code 4941, and in 2023 it increased to 43,384. The number of employees increased insignificantly, from 149,873 to 150,263 – that is close to the value in 2021: 150,429. The total turnover of the transport industry was almost the same as in 2022, 15.8, compared to 15.7 billion euros, after having increased a lot in the previous year compared to 2021, from 12.90 to 15.70 billion euros. And the profit of the entire industry was 1.2 billion euros, slightly down from 1.3 in 2022. Beyond the economy which is still weak in Europe and the fluctuations that the financial indicators of transport companies experience periodically, the interesting thing in 2023 is the rise of car carriers, which are now represented in Top 10 by turnover and profit not only by Dolo Trans Olimp, as in previous years, but also by Lagermax and Hoedlmayr-Lazăr. Dolo is also, for the first time, the leader of the ranking of the most profitable transport companies in Romania, followed by Lagermax and, in fourth place, by Titanic Grup. On the other hand, the carriers who invested in special semitrailers for intermodal and committed for train volumes recorded worse results, due to the increasing costs and unpredictable volumes. Domestic transport was good, too, due to the fact that in Romania the economical crisis is always later than in Western Europe and the internal consumption was still high, even in 2024, one of the growth drive being cross-border e-commerce.
At the industry scale the revenues of all transport companies that published their financial results for 2023 were similar to those of 2022, but the companies in Top 500 by turnover for 2023 decreased by almost 15% compared to 2022, to €5.31 billion, compared to 5.41 the same companies in 2022 and to 6.19 billion euros, the value of the companies in Top 500 in 2022.
The top 100 companies had a total of €2.94 billion, compared to 2.96 same companies in 2022 and to 3.40, as the top 100 companies in the 2022 ranking had – so they recorded a decrease of 13.5%.
Vos and Internațional Alexander exceed again €100,000,000
Two carriers had a turnover of more than €100,000,000 in 2023: Vos, which this time we analysed as the sum of the revenues of the companies in the group, which also had high revenues in 2022 separately (€103.53 million Vos Logistics Cargo, 37.52 Vos Logistics Bulk and 3.56 Vos Logistics Romania), and the companies in Alexander group – Internațional Alexander, Vio Transgrup and AS Line Spedition – which together had €176.5 million in 2023. (In the group there is also Internațional Alexander Logistic, with €11 million in 2023, but its results were analysed in the article dedicated to freight forwarding and logistics companies.) Separately, the two main transport companies in the group – Internațional Alexander and Vio Transgrup, bought four years ago – had turnovers of 134.56 and 37.61 million euros respectively, while AS Line had €4.35 million. The three companies had, at the beginning of 2024, a total fleet of 458 trucks (314 IA, 108 Vio Transgrup and 36 AS Line Spedition), but by September the number of valid licences decreased, as in the case of several carriers in Romania.
A novelty for Internațional Alexander is the collaboration with Transylvania Invest, an important grain trader from Arad, to optimize the transport of general goods and cereals by consolidating the volumes necessary for a weekly intermodal train on the route Vladimirescu (Arad)-Ghent (Belgium) and back.
As for the Vos Group, also analysed as the sum of its companies’ revenues, it had 165 trucks registered in Romania and accumulated €136.78 million: 99.50 Vos Logistics Cargo, 34.09 Vos Logistics Bulk and 3.17 Vos Logistics Romania.
In 2022 there were four transport companies with a turnover of over €100 million, but for 2023 we have not taken into account Rin Trans Activ (with €109.71 million in 2022 and 140.43 in 2023, which, however, is not only a transporter, having 150 trucks and 22 own barges, but also a grain supplier in the Black Sea region), and Dolo Trans Olimp, which in 2022 had €117.85 million, and in 2023 is in third place, with €96.32 million. Despite this decrease in turnover, Dolo was in 2023, for the first time, the leader of the ranking of the most profitable transport companies in Romania, with €12.70 million, compared to 7.28 in 2022, and it is among the leading companies in terms of assets as well, despite the fact that it decreased compared to 2022, from 58.61 to 48.87 million euros. The company had about 350 Mercedes-Benz trucks in 2023 – 100 of them renewed in 2023 – of which about 250 with Lohr car carriers and the rest with mega tarpaulins, and it also offers oversized transport and express transport with 3.5 to vehicles, but also service and mobile workshops. The company is also involved in real estate, developing the Nordmark Residence residential project in Pitești. Probably this new activity has influenced also the decrease of the turnover and assets – because many apartments in Nordmark Residence have been sold in 2022 and 2023. In 2024 the owner Cristian Dolofan also took over the management of Eurial, official dealer of Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles and Opel.
Dolo is followed by Duvenbeck, with €89.71 million, compared to €85.49 million in 2022, which ranks 14th by profit, with a significant increase compared to 2022, from 282,560 to 1.53 million euros, and 10th by assets, with €30.04 million, compared to 27.89 in 2022. 2023 was therefore better than 2022 for the company from Brașov – which works about 63% for customers in the automotive industry – due to the fact that the market stabilized, the price of diesel did not fluctuate as in 2022, so transport costs were more stable, and because it kept its old contracts and signed new ones. The volumes were similar to those of 2022, but in the second part of the year they decreased, so even in the case of contracts there were fluctuations, as some vehicle models were no longer produced or their production decreased significantly compared to estimates. That is why the transport company had to address to other industries, taking advantage of the tarpaulin trucks. 15-20% of Duvenbeck’s revenues come from logistics and the rest from transport, and the goal is to increase logistics volumes, although this involves large investments and the profits are low. The fleet includes 230 own tractors and 650 own semitrailers, 75 and 100 respectively delivered in 2023, part of which for expanding the fleet and part for replacing older models. The difference between the number of trucks and the number of semitrailers is due to the fact that the company also works with companies which only own trucks, not semitrailers, and also uses the standby system. In terms of storage, Duvenbeck has 17,000 m2 in Brașov (which is to be expanded), along with a light mobile warehouse.
Based on the results of 2023, Duvenbeck was designated in 2024, by Tranzit magazine, the most efficient transport company with foreign capital in Romania, ahead of Logistic E van Wijk (which is in 16th place in terms of turnover in 2023, with €37.40 million, and 13th in terms of profit, with €2.54 million), due to the better growth and consolidated results of the company based in Brașov. Otherwise, with EBITDA of €3,573,000, Duvenbeck did not exceed the operating result of Logistic E van Wijk and was not better in terms of operating margin either: 3%, compared to 8%. However, while Logistic E van Wijk recorded decreases in turnover (by almost €1.9 million) and profit (by about €300,000), Duvenbeck increased both.
The ranking by turnover for 2023 continues with Routier European Transport, which climbed to fifth place, with a significant increase, from 54.46 to 77.13 million euros (70% of the value is obtained from intermodal and 30% from road transport), and to third place in terms of assets, where it had the highest growth of all the transport companies in Romania, from 37.00 to 51.51 million euros. Perhaps precisely because of the investments made, but also because of other challenges related to volumes, tariffs and railway infrastructure in Europe, the Cluj-based company had a loss (-946,907 euros), after three years of profit of over one million euros/year. As for the investments in 2023, they concerned, among others, the acquisition of two electric trucks, one for the Romanian subsidiary and one for the German one, to cover the last mile part of multimodal transport, and the development of intermodal relations, by launching the Romania-Italy-BeNeLux/Germany/France-Romania triangulation. Vehicle purchases have slowed down as the firm is in a period of consolidation and profit growth, and in 2023 the fleet was over 900 semitrailers and swap bodies and 155 trucks. The investment effort to have its own trains would return to Routier’s advantage if it used 90-100% of capacity, but in 2023 this did not happen, because volumes decreased and the company had unused vehicles. However, Routier believes in intermodal and moves forward, looking for solutions so that crises do not affect it. In 2024, the company started working in the Episcopia Bihor terminal, where it invested almost €2.5 million and reached five trains/week, not only for its own trucks, but also for third parties.
In sixth place there is also a company that has intermodal activity, Filip SRL, a traditional presence in the top of the most efficient Romanian transport companies in recent years, with a constant increase in turnover, including in 2023 (+28%, from 51 to 66 million euros, the third highest growth after Routier and Lagermax). Despite the decrease in volumes and tariffs on the intermodal market, Filip SRL managed to make a profit in 2023 (€1.96 million), albeit €529,224 lower than in 2022. The assets have increased from 22.46 to 31 million euros and the company used almost 100 vehicles more in 2023 (324) compared to 2022 (222). In October 2024, Filip SRL had 319 licensed trucks.
Two other companies had revenues of over €50 million in 2023, Lagermax and Hoedlmayr-Lazăr, which in 2022 had slightly less, 43.67 and 43.55 million euros respectively, and were still close to the Top 10. But in 2023, amid high demand and reduced capacity in car transport, the tariffs have increased a lot, that’s why we see such good results of these two companies and of Dolo.
Four carriers had turnovers of over €40 million, of which Gartner and Arcese – both forwarders involved in intermodal transport – also had over €40 million in 2022 and were, in the same order and immediately one after the other, lower in the ranking, on 19-20, while Iliuță Expedition, another forwarder without trucks licensed, was in 28th place in 2022, and Luscan Com – a transport company deeply involved in constructions – was outside the Top 30.
Another 20 companies had over €30 million, another 25, over €20 million, and the remaining 43 companies in the Top 100 by turnover had over €10 million.
57 companies in Top 100 by turnover had a bigger turnover than in 2022
The largest increase in turnover among the companies in Top 100 by turnover belongs to Routier, €22.66 million, followed by Lagermax (14.72), Filip (14.55) and Hoedlmayr (11.38) – again companies involved in car-carrier and intermodal transport. Another 10 companies had increases of over five million euros, 24, grew over one million euros, other 10 with over €500,000, six with over €100,000, three had smaller increases and the remaining 43 companies decreased compared to 2023. Carrion had the largest decrease, €35.73 million, followed by Dolo (-21.52), Port Trans (-13.95), Stalker Media (-13.24) and Fartud (-10.14). 11 companies decreased compared to 2022 by more than five million euros, and another 14 by more than one million euros.
The companies in Alexander group had together the highest average turnover in the last five years, €144.40 million, followed at a short distance by the companies in Vos group, with 142.94, and then by companies that had less than €100 million: three of them – Dolo, Duvenbeck and Carrion – with over €50 million, four with over €40 million, 14 with over €30 million, 29 with over €20 million, 44 with over €10 million, and four companies with over €8.41 million (the lowest average value of the companies in Top 100 by turnover).
86 companies in Top 100 by turnover made profit
The companies in Top 100 by turnover had a total profit of €132.17 million in 2023, down from €150.83 million in 2022.
Dolo had the highest profit (€12.70 million), part of it coming from the real-estate project, followed by Lagermax (9.50), Transpeco (6.87), the companies in Alexander group (5.89) and Titanic Grup (5.36). So, after a good year for car carriers, due especially to the high tariffs, amid insufficient capacity, Dolo Trans Olimp becomes the leader in the ranking of the profit obtained by Romanian carriers, with an increase of 74% compared to 2022. Even higher percentage increases in profit had two other companies that also transport cars: 206% Lagermax and 128% Titanic Grup. And the leaders in terms of percentage increase in profit are Dumagas, with 1,753%, and Duvenbeck, with 798%, but they started from low profit values in 2022.
Transpeco Logistic & Distribution ranks 13th in the top of Romanian carriers by turnover and 7th in terms of assets, but it also stands out in 2023 especially in terms of profitability, after having been the leader for several consecutive years. The company had in 2023 both increases in turnover and profit, compared to 2022, from 35.36 to 38.76 million euros, respectively from 6.13 to 6.87 million euros, due to the fact that it also had higher tariffs and fuel transport volumes. The increase of about 8% in turnover was due, in approximately equal proportions, to the increase in tariffs and the increase in transported volumes. Transpeco did not expand the fleet in 2023, but replaced end-of-life vehicles and their sale contributed with 4-5% to the turnover and the difference is from the transport services. These results are due to the fact that 2023 was a year of return to normal after the pandemic and to the start of the war in Ukraine. The profit increased by about 10% compared to 2022. Over 90% of the increase is due to higher turnover and the rest, to the higher efficiency in operating the vehicles, using 2-3 drivers/truck – therefore to the higher profitability of the assets.
Four other companies – Internațional Lazăr Company, Total NSA, Fartud and Lancetti – had a profit of over three million euros, another 10 of over two million euros, another 22 of over one million euros, another 25 of over €500,000, another 17 of over €100,000 and three had lower profits. Internațional Lazăr is involved also in other businesses, most profitable being, in the last years, infrastructure construction and logistics parks development. Also Total NSA is deeply involved in construction activities and the development of a logistics park in Săliște, where it has been released, in November 2024, the biggest cross-dock center (over 14,000 m2), used by PallEx. And Lancetti started to organize intermodal transport, besides the regular international road transport.
Marvicon had the largest loss among the companies in Top 100 by turnover, €2.07 million, followed by the companies in Vos group (1.75), Trameco (1.70) – who works in fact in constructions – HTR (1.67), Kraft Logistic (1.28) and Dunca (€1.20 million). Eight other companies had losses of less than one million euros.
The total loss of the 14 companies in Top 100 by revenues that had losses is €13.96 million, compared to €8.87 million, the loss of the seven companies in the same Top 100 that had losses in 2022 – Carrion’s loss alone was €3.64 million.
44 companies in Top 100 by turnover had higher profit than in 2022
Lagermax had the largest increase (€6.39 million), followed by Dolo (5.41), Titanic Grup (3.01) – three car carriers – Duvenbeck (2.25) and Dumagas (€1.68 million). Since it changed the ownership, Dumagas Transport has restructured the management team, added new sales force, gave up at customers that were not bringing profit to the company and the impact in the financial results were spectacular, even in a difficult year. Moreover, Dumagas created two new subsidiaries working in Germany and Italy which are expected to have good results for the years to come.
Other 11 companies had profit increases of over €500,000, 16 recorder over €100,000, other 12 had smaller increases and the remaining 56 companies had profit decreases compared to 2022. The biggest decrease belongs to Port Trans (€9.49 million), followed by Heisterkamp Transport (4.81), the companies in Alexander group (4.43), Proiect Personal Leasing (2.93) and Dianthus (2.09). Seven other companies had profit decreases of over one million euros, and the rest, smaller decreases.
The companies in Alexander group and Transpeco had the highest profit averages
75 of the companies with the highest 100 turnovers made profit in each of the last five years.
The highest average profits in 2019-2023 among the companies in Top 100 by turnover in 2023 belongs to the companies in Alexander group (€6.95 million) and Transpeco (6.31). Dolo Trans and Port Trans had averages of over four million euros, Dianthus, Romstyl and Fartud, over three million euros, other 10 companies had over two million euros and other 20, over one million euros.
Four companies with EBITDA of over €10 million
Dolo also leads the ranking of companies with the highest EBITDA in 2023, with €21.37 million, followed this time by the companies in Alexander group, with 17.41, Transpeco, 15.94, and only then by the second place in the ranking by profit, Lagermax, with 12.93. Romstyl had €9.62 million, Total NSA €8.58 million, Titanic and Internațional Lazăr Company, over six million euros, eight companies had over five million euros, three others had over four million euros, 16 – over three million euros, 41 – over two million euros, and the rest of the companies, less than that.
Slight increase in assets for the Top 100 companies by turnover
The companies in Top 100 by turnover in 2023 had total assets of €1,557.95 million, compared to 1,482.46, the same companies in 2022.
The largest assets are held by Alexander Group, €102.11 million, followed at great distance by Internațional Lazăr Company (61.54), Routier (51.51), Total NSA (50.43) and Dolo Trans (48.87) – all of them holding not only hundreds of vehicles but also other properties: plots of land, warehouses, terminals etc. Five other companies have assets worth over €30 million, 13 others – over €20 million, 37 over €10 million, and the rest, smaller, up to €783,619 – Kraft Logistic, the last ranked out of the 100 from this point of view.
Routier had the highest increase in assets compared to 2022, with €14.50 million, followed by Filip (8.61), Trans Euro Express 94 (7.39), A&C International Road Cargo (6.51) and Arcese (6.09 million). Four companies had increases of over five million euros, four over four million euros, seven over three million euros, 17 over two million euros, 13 over one million euros, other 18 smaller increases, and 32 companies had decreases in assets. Port Trans (€26.32 million), Carrion (10.55) and Vos (10.02) had the largest decrease and 17 other companies had assets more than one million euros lower in 2023 compared to 2022.
As for the average assets over the last five years, the companies in Alexander group lead, with €89.14 million, followed by Dolo Trans (59.01) and Internațional Lazăr Company (58.42), by three companies with over €30 million, 10 with over €20 million, 34 with over €10 million, and the rest, with lower average assets, up to €1.14 million – Epa Transport.
17 companies in Top 100 by turnover have less than 100 employees, showing the involvement more in forwarding activities
Most employees among the companies in the Top 100 by turnover are those of Alexander Group, 1,177 – 35 fewer than in 2022. More than 500 employees have Duvenbeck (634), Maracana (566), H.Essers (565) and Filip (534). Six other companies have over 400 employees, another 12 have over 300, another 29, over 200, another 31, over 100, and 17 companies have less than 100 employees – the companies with no trucks at all or with some trucks, but doing mostly forwarding activities. There are transport companies that started to intermediate transport services and in time, forwarding services became the main activity, therefore the fleet diminished year by year.
Among the transport companies with more than 50 employees, the highest revenues/employee had Rozoti Prodcom (€416,000/year), Anasped (€342,000/year) and Hoedlmayr-Lazar (€315,000/year). They are followed by eight companies with over €200,000/year – Holleman Special Transport, Routier, Lagermax, Pallet Express, Transped RC-Rac, Com Divers Logistic, Rodali Cargo (the only company in this top that is not in Top 100 by revenue also) and Dumagas Transport – and 49 with over €100,000/year. We notice in the list mainly companies with forwarding and logistics activities.
Rodali also has the highest operating margin, 40%, followed by Titanic Group (34%), five companies with over 20% – CSC Auto, Bica, Dolly Trans Company, Transpeco and Total Trans – 23 with over 10%, 26 with over 5% and the rest with less.
Increases for all the main figures for Blue River Bucharest 78
One of the companies with significant rises in 2023, designated in 2024 by Tranzit magazine as the most efficient carrier in Romania, is Blue River București 78, which had an increase in turnover by €5.3 million, in profit by about €700,000 and in assets by almost €3 million. With 145 trucks licensed in 2023 (and 147 in 2022), maintained in 2024, the operational results were much better (€5.5 million EBITDA) than in case of some companies operating large fleets. An important role is played by the start of operation with electric trucks, which are more expensive and also require a more efficient operation, extended as far as possible to the diesel trucks used in regional distribution. The increase in turnover is mainly due to the increase in domestic transport, to which the company has allocated more vehicles and where the market has been good for Blue River.
In terms of profit, the increase came mainly from the even greater efficiency of vehicle use and it is due to a small extent to the sale of assets, which makes Blue River one of the companies in Romania with the highest operational growth. For some customers there are transports 30 days a month, so the turnover has increased, and the empty kilometres are quite few. In addition, more emphasis has been placed on digitization and AI and an application has been implemented through which each customer is monitored and depending on this, some contracts have been closed and the prices have been renegotiated in case of others. The increase in profit is also due to the thorough control of the company’s expenses, by the fact that no invoice is paid until it is approved by the company’s management.
