Europe's freight bill is getting harder to absorb.

Freight prices moved sharply in the second quarter

The contract rate index reached 148.0 in Q2, a rise of 7.9 points from the previous quarter. The spot index reached 146.8, up 14.6 points. These are index-point changes, not percentage increases. They describe the benchmark's European road freight market, rather than the price of an individual parcel or local delivery route. [1]

The same release puts average EU diesel at €1.94 per litre during Q2. TTM.nl's coverage identified fuel as a major driver of the increase in freight prices. For a delivery operator purchasing transport as well as running its own vehicles, the pressure can arrive through both budgets. [1][2]

September brought another uncomfortable fuel reading

Reuters reported an ADAC average of €2.453 per litre for German diesel on September 16, alongside €2.314 for Super E10. Earlier in the month, S&P Global described a tight European diesel market and greater reliance on U.S. supply. [3][4]

Germany's daily retail price and the EU's Q2 diesel average have different geographic and time coverage. We keep them separate. A depot should use its own fuel invoices for budgeting, with a clear treatment of any recoverable taxes. Comparing those invoices with the same local series each week gives a more useful picture than switching between crude prices and pump headlines.

Every kilometre still needs to earn its place

Eurostat's 2025 figures show that empty vehicles accounted for 21.8% of EU road freight distance. The share was 26.0% for national journeys and 12.9% for international journeys. These percentages measure vehicle-kilometres, rather than the number of vehicles or deliveries. [5]

This is a broad road freight measure. It does not establish how much distance a parcel van could save, and many empty returns are unavoidable. It does make one operational question worth asking: how much of the distance in your own schedule is necessary to serve the day's orders?

A local fleet can start with the first trip from the depot, the distance between stops, and the return journey. Then examine routes that revisit the same areas or leave one driver with a long tail of distant stops. A shorter plan still has to fit vehicle limits, delivery windows, and the time available to each driver.

A better plan starts with the orders you already have

Rotasal produces delivery routes from a team's orders and operating constraints. The useful outcome is a day that drivers can complete with less avoidable travel, while customers receive their deliveries within the agreed windows. Driver instructions and customer tracking help carry that plan through to the doorstep. [7][6]

Our reported 25–30% reduction in fuel spend is a reason to test the opportunity in a fleet's own operation. It should be checked against the same orders, service commitments, and fuel price as the existing plan. An apparent saving can disappear if it relies on missed windows, unrealistic stop times, or moving work into the following day. [6]

For a European fleet facing a higher fuel invoice, that comparison is a practical place to begin. Keep the price assumptions visible, include the full route back to the depot, and judge the result on both cost and completed service.