Since 2000, goods transport by both road and rail in Switzerland has grown more slowly than gross domestic product (GDP). The trends vary considerably, however, depending on the means of transport.
Transport performance of domestic road transport increased by just under a fifth (+18%) between 2000 and 2014 and has since remained more or less stable.
Road import and export traffic almost doubled between 2000 and 2018 (+92%). Although it has since fallen slightly, road freight import and export traffic grew faster than GDP over the entire period from 2000 to 2024, reflecting the increasing globalisation of the economy.
Road transit traffic increased by 72% between 2000 and 2010. One reason for this was the increase in the maximum authorised weight from 28 to 40 tonnes, which made international road haulage through Switzerland more profitable. Transit traffic then declined sharply from 2011 onwards and, by 2020, had fallen to 14% below its 2000 level. Initially, this was largely due to the economic downturn in Europe, particularly in Italy. Later, factors including comparatively high transport costs in Switzerland (performance-related heavy vehicle fee (HVF) and elevated diesel prices) are likely to have impeded a recovery.
Rail transport performance has remained more or less stable since 2000, even though GDP has increased by more than half (+53 per cent).
