ADR Class 8 Tanker Rate Benchmark
Observed all-in rate bands for rubber-lined class 8 tanker lanes across Europe, published openly. Each lane shows a single all-in band, because that is the number a shipper actually pays. Where we can pair a return leg, the saving goes into your quote rather than into a published table.
Rate bands for rubber-lined ADR class 8 tanker lanes between Central Europe, the Benelux, Poland, the Baltics and the Nordics. Each lane is published as a dedicated rate and a backhaul rate with the percentage spread. Across all 12 lanes the all-in rate lands between 3.10 and 3.70 euro per loaded kilometre, because a rubber-lined class 8 tanker rarely finds a compliant return load and the empty leg has to be carried by the outbound rate. Data reviewed July 2026, licensed CC BY 4.0.
The finding: backhaul pricing converges, dedicated pricing does not
Across every lane in this set, the backhaul rate lands between 2.10 and 2.13 euro per kilometre. A 700 kilometre run and a 2,000 kilometre run price almost identically per kilometre once the vehicle is repositioning. Dedicated pricing does not behave that way, because it has to absorb the empty return leg, and that absorption varies with how likely a return load is on that particular corridor.
The practical consequence is that on a specialist tanker lane you are not really negotiating a rate, you are negotiating whether your load is dedicated or fits a repositioning. Shippers who can flex a loading window by a day or two routinely access the backhaul band. Shippers who cannot, pay the dedicated band, and no amount of tendering closes that gap because it is structural rather than commercial.
Check a lane
Select a benchmarked lane to see the dedicated band, the backhaul band and what the spread is worth on your volume.
Benchmarked lanes
All figures are all-in per full load in euro, including CMR insurance and dangerous goods documentation. Equipment throughout is rubber-lined class 8 tanker.
| Lane | km | Indicative all-in | Per loaded km |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rottenbach (AT) → Tallinn (EE) | 1,850 | €5,800 to €6,800 | €3.14 |
| Frankfurt (DE) → Tallinn (EE) | 1,750 | €5,500 to €6,450 | €3.14 |
| Ludwigshafen (DE) → Tartu (EE) | 1,800 | €5,650 to €6,600 | €3.14 |
| Hamburg (DE) → Riga (LV) | 1,350 | €4,250 to €5,000 | €3.15 |
| Munich (DE) → Vilnius (LT) | 1,300 | €4,100 to €4,800 | €3.15 |
| Katowice (PL) → Tallinn (EE) | 1,200 | €3,750 to €4,400 | €3.12 |
| Katowice (PL) → Riga (LV) | 950 | €3,000 to €3,500 | €3.16 |
| Rotterdam (NL) → Tallinn (EE) | 1,900 | €5,950 to €7,000 | €3.13 |
| Rotterdam (NL) → Stockholm (SE) | 1,500 | €4,700 to €5,500 | €3.13 |
| Antwerp (BE) → Helsinki (FI) | 2,000 | €6,300 to €7,350 | €3.15 |
| Linz (AT) → Riga (LV) | 1,650 | €5,200 to €6,050 | €3.15 |
| Wroclaw (PL) → Vilnius (LT) | 700 | €2,200 to €2,600 | €3.14 |
Method and limitations
Bands are derived from carrier quotations and executed movements on each lane during the reference period. Bands rather than point estimates are published because on specialist equipment the availability of the correct lining drives price more than distance does. Lanes with fewer than three independent observations are omitted.
The obvious limitation: this is one brokerage network, weighted toward rubber-lined class 8 equipment on Central Europe to Baltic and Nordic corridors. It is not a general road freight index and should not be read as one. It is published because no public series covers this segment at all, and a partial reference is more useful to the industry than none.
The dataset is available under CC BY 4.0 and may be reused with attribution. Full method notes and the machine-readable file are on the rate index page.
Frequently asked questions
What does an ADR class 8 tanker cost per kilometre?
On these lanes an all-in movement runs about 3.10 to 3.70 euro per loaded kilometre. Spread across the outbound and the empty return that is roughly 1.55 to 1.85 euro per kilometre of actual truck movement, which is the dedicated rate has to absorb the empty return leg and that varies with how likely a return load is.
What drives the range on a given lane?
Product, tank specification, tunnel restrictions on the routing, and whether the vehicle can find any compliant return load. A rubber-lined class 8 tanker cannot take general freight home, so the outbound rate carries the empty leg. Lanes into the Baltics and Nordics sit at the top of the band for that reason, because return volume out of the rmpty. The gap is structural rather than a negotiating margin.
How can a shipper access backhaul pricing?
By flexing the loading window. Backhaul capacity appears when a vehicle is already repositioning, so a load that can move within a two or three day window can often be matched to one. A load with a fixed hour usually cannot.
Can I reuse this data?
Yes. The dataset is published under CC BY 4.0, so it can be reused including commercially with attribution to Vektor Group.
Want your lane benchmarked?
Send the origin, destination, product and equipment. We will price it against real carrier costs and tell you whether backhaul capacity exists on that corridor.
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