A leading logistics industry figure believes that European companies are still mostly concerned about the state of the economy.

Speaking to Focus, Georgi Petrov - chairman of the managing board of the Association of Bulgarian Enterprises for International Road Transport and Roads - said that road transport is dependent on "economic progress and development".

He added that tough trading conditions have forced fleets to make cut backs - a point emphasised by statistics that showed the average European firm will change its vehicles every seven years, whereas businesses in other parts of the world are able to do this more frequently.

The eurozone is in a terrible state and there have been suggestions that Slovenia could be the latest country to experience a banking crisis.

However, Mr Petrov said some parts of the continent are thriving - namely Finland, Russia and Turkey - and it is up to logistics companies to move into booming markets.

"The different levels of economic development cause changes in freight flows, which carriers are obliged to follow in order to survive," he was quoted as saying.