Road freight services become Latvia's leading transport export
Since 2004, road transport has been Latvia's largest transport services export, overtaking rail and aviation, though export revenue per capita still trails Baltic neighbours and other European countries.
Latvia's road freight sector has undergone significant shifts in both volume and geography over the past two decades, according to data compiled by Dienas Bizness.
After Latvia regained independence, all freight transport crossing its border became classified as international export or import transport. While export and import transport made up just 5% of total road freight volume in 2000, the share has since stabilized at around one-tenth — reaching 9.98% in 2025.
Shifting geography of freight transport
Until 2014, Russia was the main destination for Latvia's export road freight, but since 2015 Lithuania and Estonia have taken over that position. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, freight volumes to Russia declined further — from 0.6 million tonnes in 2021 to 0.32 million tonnes in 2025. While Russia received a quarter of all Latvian export road freight in 2005, that figure has dropped to just 6.8% today. Meanwhile, Lithuania and Estonia's combined share of Latvia's export road freight reached nearly 60% in 2025.
Road transport overtakes rail and aviation
Latvia's accession to the European Union gave a major boost to road transport services export revenue, which grew from €61 million in 2000 to €628 million in 2008. Since 2004, road transport has overtaken rail as Latvia's largest transport services exporter, and since 2019 road freight export revenue has exceeded the combined export revenue of rail and aviation transport.
However, Latvia's per-capita figures remain modest compared to other countries. In 2023, Luxembourg led globally in this measure, followed by Lithuania at €2,638 per capita, while Latvia ranked ninth worldwide with €631 per capita, trailing Estonia as well.
Latvia's largest road freight carrier is SIA Kreiss, which posted turnover of €231 million in 2024, ranking 29th among Latvia's largest companies and employing around 2,860 people. Industry observers note that Latvia's geographic position — between Lithuania and Estonia — gives the country strong long-term potential in land transport services export.
