Poland Freight Brokerage Services Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2025 - 2030)

Poland Freight Brokerage Services Market Trends and Insights

E-commerce Boom Driving Domestic Freight

Poland’s online retail value is on track to hit PLN 192 billion (USD 48.73 billion) by 2028, expanding 8% a year and fueling last-mile and regional shipping demand. The less-than-.truckload segment captures much of this surge as retailers seek frequent, smaller replenishments for omnichannel inventory. Digital brokers automate load consolidation, letting 3PLs aggregate parcels into cost-efficient routes that conventional FTL networks cannot serve profitably. Expanded micro-fulfillment footprints inside Warsaw and Krakow create dense urban freight flows. The Poland freight brokerage services market taps these flows by integrating courier APIs, which shortens booking times and boosts carrier asset utilization. New AI-powered matching modules from Trans.eu now process 44,000 verified carriers, trimming empty miles and raising earnings per kilometer^{[1]“A record-breaking year for Polish seaports,” Trade.gov.pl, trade.gov.pl}.

Poland as EU Gateway for East-West Trade

Roughly one-fifth of EU freight volumes transit Poland, and the country executes 43.4% of all cabotage assignments, confirming its status as the key land bridge between Baltic ports and Western Europe. Container throughput at the Port of Gdansk climbed 9.7% to 2.25 million TEU in 2024 even as bulk tonnage dipped, reinforcing modal shifts toward containerized logistics. The T3 terminal will lift capacity to 4.5 million TEU in 2025, ensuring headroom for additional near-shored production. Freight brokers capitalize by bundling drayage, cross-dock, and customs services into single invoices for shippers. The Poland freight brokerage services market also benefits from Savills’ near-shoring index that ranks the country third in Europe, attracting automotive and electronics inflows which require multimodal orchestration^{[2]“Cennik Trans.eu | Platforma Trans.eu,” Trans.eu, trans.eu}.

EU-Funded Road-Infrastructure Expansion

More than EUR 1.4 billion (USD 1.54 billion) in new rail tenders and PLN 2.4 billion (USD 609.17 million) allocated for eastern highways unlock capacity for both road and intermodal corridors. A EUR 450 million (USD 496.63 million) European Investment Bank loan supports track upgrades that cut lead times between Baltic ports and Silesian factories. Freight brokers integrate these corridors into route-planning engines, enabling optimized cost-distance trade-offs across truck, rail, and barge services. Electric-truck subsidies further open doorways to green-lane contracts, letting brokers differentiate through CO₂ dashboards that satisfy shipper ESG audits. Over time, the Poland freight brokerage services market can upsell carbon-neutral routing at premium prices while meeting EU emissions targets^{[3]“Half of European truck operators can’t expand due to driver shortages,” IRU, iru.org}.

SME Demand for Value-Added Services

Small firms increasingly outsource freight execution, regulatory compliance, and cargo insurance to brokers because onboarding in-house logistics staff is costly. With SME freight volumes projected to rise 14.1% annually, demand intensifies for warehousing, customs clearance, and invoice-finance packages bundled into one platform. New insurance ceilings of EUR 1.56 million (USD 1.72 million) per claim push liability coverage beyond the reach of many small carriers. Brokers step in by pooling risk and offering real-time track-and-trace dashboards that meet new KSeF 2.0 e-invoicing standards. These features widen the Poland freight brokerage services market addressable base among firms under USD 10 million revenue while improving payment cycles.

Driver Shortage and Rising Labor Costs

Poland lacks roughly 30,000 licensed truck drivers, and the deficit could triple by 2028 across Europe, tightening capacity and lifting spot rates. Average net wages already top PLN 7,800 per month, while 2025 social-security contributions climb PLN 356 per driver. Carriers recruit from Central Asia, but onboarding costs rise, and legal processes delay workforce stabilization. Such pressures erode FTL margins, forcing brokers to renegotiate contracts or deploy relay models that shorten driving cycles. Without intervention, the Poland freight brokerage services market faces higher churn among small carriers and unpredictable capacity availability.

Diesel-Price Volatility Squeezing Margins

Fuel usually represents about 30% of trip costs; recent German toll hikes exceeding 80% amplify volatility for Polish carriers, especially on 500-mile cross-border hauls. Brokers now embed dynamic fuel-adjustment clauses into spot quotes, but rate latency still exposes them to negative spreads. Digital tools that refresh diesel indices every 60 minutes help mitigate risk, yet not all shippers accept variable surcharges. The Poland freight brokerage services market thus sees margin compression in legacy annual contracts and growing preference for shorter-duration agreements.

Segment Analysis

By Service: FTL Dominance Amid LTL Acceleration

Full-truckload generated 69.2% of 2024 revenue, underscoring cost efficiencies on east-west corridors central to the Poland freight brokerage services market. FTL enjoys predictable schedules, enabling brokers to lock in annual agreements with big shippers and optimize backhauls. However, ecommerce parcelization inflates parcel counts and spurs 9.1% CAGR in LTL through 2030. LTL gains additional lift from SMEs that cannot aggregate full loads yet demand two-day delivery reach across Poland. The Poland freight brokerage services market size tied to LTL therefore widens faster as brokers deploy hub-and-spoke cross-dock networks, incorporate pallet exchange programs, and use AI-driven consolidation to boost trailer fill rates.

Digitally enabled brokers reduce LTL bid-to-book cycles to under 10 minutes by automating rating engines and instant POD uploads. Those platforms also integrate warehouses to provide one-touch fulfillment, a service increasingly vital for omnichannel retailers. FTL still dominates long-reach export lanes where time and unit costs matter more than flexibility. Nevertheless, margin headroom in LTL encourages asset-light brokers to invest in proprietary networks, underpinning a strategic shift that broadens the Poland freight brokerage services market portfolio.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Equipment Type: Dry-Van Leadership with Cold-Chain Growth

Dry-van trailers held 42.8% revenue in 2024 because general merchandise and automotive parts move best inside sealed boxes protected from weather and theft. Dry vans also support many backhaul lanes, optimizing asset turns. Cold-chain requirements rise quickly, posting 9.4% CAGR, thanks to grocery ecommerce and pharmaceutical exports. Raben’s 550-unit reefer fleet featuring electric-refrigerated trailers that recover kinetic energy highlights green innovation that pulls premium rates.

Flatbeds and step-decks cater to machinery and construction projects accelerated by EU infrastructure funds, whereas tankers serve Poland’s petrochemical and agricultural liquid trades. The Poland freight brokerage services market share for cold-chain equipment should climb as national food retailers pledge to source more fresh items locally, compelling daily replenishment across urban hubs.

By Haul Length: Long-Haul Strength with Local Surge

Long-haul trips above 500 miles still capture 58.4% of the Poland freight brokerage services market as 2.25 million TEU of containers unloaded at Baltic ports need distribution into Germany, France, and Benelux. Brokers favor dedicated FTL loops along the A2 and A4 motorways to minimize border delays. Yet urban densification spurs a projected 11.4% CAGR for sub-100-mile local moves as quick-commerce players and grocery platforms add micro warehouses.

Regional 100-500-mile freight remains the hinge connecting local feeders to pan-European corridors. Brokers that bundle all three haul lengths via dynamic planning engines can smooth capacity swings and extract higher yields, strengthening their competitive edge in the Poland freight brokerage services market.

By Business Model: Traditional Dominance Facing Digital Disruption

Traditional intermediaries controlled 78.4% of sales in 2024, relying on personal networks and long-term enterprise contracts. That share is eroding as digital marketplaces log 21.2% CAGR, winning startups and SMEs with instant price discovery and transparent performance metrics. Asset-based hybrids lock clients with guaranteed capacity, while agent models thrive in niche corridors that require local language and regulatory expertise.

Sennder’s EUR 1.4 billion (USD 1.54 billion) takeover of C.H. Robinson’s European arm shifts roughly USD 1.5 billion of annual freight under digital stewardship, signaling that scale and software now go hand in hand. Traditional brokers respond by rolling out web portals, e-CMR, and dynamic quoting to preserve wallet share. Competition pushes the Poland freight brokerage services market toward omnichannel engagement where shippers toggle between API-based spot bookings and account-managed contract lanes.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By End-User Industry: Manufacturing Leadership with E-Commerce Acceleration

Manufacturing and automotive sectors delivered 32.1% of 2024 revenue, driven by outbound parts flows and inbound raw materials for Poland’s robust car-assembly plants. These shippers demand stringent service level agreements and often embed brokers in vendor-managed inventory programs. E-commerce and 3PL fulfillment record the highest 18.2% CAGR because Poland’s online retail spend climbs toward PLN 192 billion (USD 48.73 billion) by 2028.

Construction, agriculture, and healthcare maintain steady lanes, but high-margin cold-chain pharma flows deliver outsized profits for brokers with GDP-compliant facilities. The Poland freight brokerage services market adapts by segmenting sales teams: one group targets OEMs for contract bids, while another focuses on fast-moving ecommerce clients via self-service dashboards.

By Customer Size: Enterprise Dominance with SME Momentum

Large shippers defined as companies above USD 100 million revenue accounted for 62.4% of turnover in 2024, leveraging volume-based rebates and multi-year commitments. That dominance is expected but gradually diluted by a 14.1% CAGR in small-business freight, unlocked by digital self-onboarding, pay-per-use models, and embedded finance.

Brokers create tiered packages: premium white-glove for corporates, bundled compliance for midsize firms, and freemium access for micro-merchants. Such stratification keeps acquisition cost proportional to revenue, ensuring the Poland freight brokerage services market sustains margin parity across customer bands.

Geography Analysis

Poland’s 31.7 million m² warehouse base and 39 intermodal terminals provide the scaffolding for domestic and cross-border freight. Warsaw, Krakow, and Gdansk metro regions anchor dense consumer clusters that feed short-haul LTL volumes. Along the Baltic coast, containerized imports funnel through Gdansk’s deep-water berths, whose new T3 terminal will boost capacity 100% by 2025, elevating the Poland freight brokerage services market’s ocean-linked opportunities.

Western border crossings into Germany bear the brunt of toll hikes, pressing brokers to embed automatic surcharge engines lest they erode thin margins. Southern Silesia, anchored by Katowice’s industrial belt, witnesses acute driver shortages, prompting brokers to adopt relay and drop-and-hook systems that reduce dwell time. Eastern corridors receive EU co-financing to offset historical infrastructure gaps, gradually equalizing transit speeds with central Poland.

Digital adoption is highest in Poznan and Wrocław logistics parks, where 5G coverage supports IoT trailer sensors and live ETA dashboards. Conversely, rural Podkarpackie voivodeship lags, offering expansion white-space for brokers willing to educate local carriers. Overall, Poland’s location halfway between the North Sea and Ukraine continues to pull incremental flows, reinforcing the Poland freight brokerage services market as a pan-European pivot point.