Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Paseo de la Castellana n.º 67. 28071 Madrid. Spain
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
2 September 2024
2.2. Metadata last posted
2 September 2024
2.3. Metadata last update
2 September 2024
3.1. Data description
Road freight data collection consists of three datasets with quarterly periodicity: 1. Vehicle related variables dataset for a sample of road good motor vehicles contain, among others, indication about the type and age of the vehicle, the economic activity of the owner of the vehicle, the total kilometres loaded or empty. 2. Journey related variables dataset which contain, among others, indications about weight of goods, regions of loading and unloading, distance driven, and tonne-kilometres performed during a journey 3. Goods related variables dataset which contain, among others, the type of goods transported and their weight and distance travelled, regions of loading and unloading.
3.2. Classification system
Statistics on carriage of goods by road apply the following statistical classifications:
The regional coding is done in conformity with European legislation: "NUTS Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics" (see also NUTS). The Directives data before 1999 were collected at level 2 of NUTS; since 1999 the Council Regulation 1172/98 road freight data have been collected at level 3 of NUTS. Simplified coding was allowed in Articles 5 § 4 of Regulation 1172/98 until the end of the reference year 2007. Before this, full regional coding was obligatory for national transport only; for international transport a transitional period allowed the regional coding of the places of loading and unloading with country codes only. Full regional coding of international journeys has been applied for the whole EEA area from the beginning of 2008 (reference year).
The variable type of cargo is collected in Spain (is an optional variable in Regulation (EU) No 70/2012). It follows the Classification of Cargo Types of UNECE (United Nations, Economic Commission for Europe - codes for types of cargo, packages and packaging materials, Recommendation 21 adopted by the Working Party on Facilitation of International Trade Procedures, Geneva, March 1986).
3.3. Coverage - sector
Statistics produced on the basis of Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 cover the following road freight transport operations by heavy goods vehicles registered in Spain:
Commercial road freight transport (NACE Rev.1.1 I6024; NACE Rev.2 H494), referred to as "Hire or reward" road freight transport.
Road freight transport by private vehicles and by vehicles owned by companies classified in other classes than professional road freight transport. This kind of transport is identified as "Own account" road freight and it covers transport operations by manufacturing industry, construction, trade and other companies.
Operations by small goods vehicles (less than 3.5 tons weight capacity and less than 6 tons of maximum permissible weight) are not covered in these statistics.
Data are based on sample surveys.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
The main concepts used in Road freight statistics are the following:
A goods road motor vehicle is any single road transport vehicle (lorry), or combination of road vehicles, namely road train (lorry with trailer) or articulated vehicle (road tractor with semi-trailer), designed to carry goods.
Basic transport operation is the transport of one type of goods (defined by reference to a particular nomenclature level) from a place of origin, in which the merchandise is loaded, to one of destiny, in which it is discharged. Also included are the so-called "empty operations", that is, the displacements made without goods between a place of unloading and another of loading.
Goods carried by road. It is the movable thing that moves from one place to another by goods vehicle. When a vehicle transports two kinds of different goods, it is considered that it carries out two transport operations.
Cross-trade is international road transport between two different countries performed by a road motor vehicle registered in a third country.
National transport is road transport between two places (a place of loading and a place of unloading) located in the same country by a vehicle registered in that country.
International transport is road transport between two places (a place of loading and a place of unloading) in two different countries and cabotage by road. It may involve transit through one or more additional country or countries.
Transit is any loaded or empty road motor vehicle, which enters and leaves a country at different points by whatever means of transport, provided the total journey within the country is by road and that there is no loading or unloading in the country.
Road cabotage transport is road transport between two places (a place of loading and a place of unloading) in the same country by a vehicle not registered in that country. It may involve transit through one or more additional country or countries.
Place of loading/unloading of a goods road vehicle on another mode of transport
Place of loading (of the goods road transport vehicle on another mode of transport): The place of loading is the first place where the goods road motor vehicle was loaded on to another mode of transport (usually a ship or a rail wagon).
Place of unloading (of the goods road transport vehicle from another mode of transport): The place of unloading is the last place where the goods road motor vehicle was unloaded from another mode of transport (usually a ship or a rail wagon)
3.5. Statistical unit
The reporting unit for road freight transport statistics is the goods road transport vehicle.
3.6. Statistical population
The number of goods vehicles in Spain in recent years is around 380,000. A sample surveys are carried out to collect information.
3.7. Reference area
The data provided are goods vehicles registered in Spain uniquely.
3.8. Coverage - Time
The first reference year of reporting road goods data was 1999.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Data are collected in tonnes, tonne-kilometres, vehicle-kilometres and in number of journeys (journey data) and in number of basic transport operations.
The road data are collected on a quarterly basis and are reported to Eurostat five months after the end of the reference period.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
The Ministry makes available to the researchers files with the individualized anonymized annual data of the Survey. The users sign an agreement of use.
From Eurostat:
Eurostat submits annually semi-aggregated data (data exchange tables, see Commission Regulation (EU) No 202/2010 amending the Commission Regulation (EC) 6/2003) back to the reporting countries so that they can compile the total road freight transport on their national territories, including the operations by national hauliers and also those of all other reporting countries.
These data exchange tables include more detailed breakdowns than the publicly available tables. They also include, for each value, the information on the number of observations that the estimates are based on. In this way, the reporting countries can estimate the reliability of results that they aggregate from the data exchange tables.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
National level:
Statistical Law No. 12/1989 “Ley de la Función Estadística Pública” of May 9, 1989
Law No. 13/1996 “Medidas Fiscales, Administrativas y del Orden Social” of December 30, 1996.
The Law 12/1989, of May 9, of the Public Statistical Function obliges not to divulge in any case the personal data whatever their origin. It is understood that personal data refer to individuals or legal entities that either allow the immediate identification of the interested parties, or lead by their structure, content or degree of disaggregation to the indirect identification of the same.
European level:
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
The Ministry adopts the necessary measures so that the protection of confidential data is effective, from the collection of data to its publication.
The data that allow the identification of the informant are not published.
8.1. Release calendar
Advance dissemination of release calendar:
An advance release calendar that shows the precise release dates for the coming year are disseminated before the end of each year.
The calendar is disseminated on Ministry's website.
The data is disseminated simultaneously according to the publication schedule to all interested parties, through its publication on the Ministry's website.
The quarterly data is disseminated within two months after the reference period.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Currently there are no regular news releases on road freight transport.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
The data are published on the Ministry's website, according to the release calendar.
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
The series with the most relevant quarterly data from 1993 to the present is available on the Ministry's website.
It also includes detailed annual publications since 2006.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Access to road freight micro-data may be granted following certain admissibility rules and safety conditions.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
It is possible to apply for customised requests. At the time of attending and processing these requests, the corresponding limitations on confidentiality or accuracy are taken into account.
In addition to these metadata pages and the Eurostat reports, there aren't additional national quality reports.
11.1. Quality assurance
The methodology follows the Eurostat guidelines.
A procedure has been designed to control and validate the quality of the data throughout the entire process.
There are validation controls in the questionnaire, a data checking process in collection units and a control from the developer unit to ensure the quality of the statistic.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
The survey meets all the criteria of consistency, comparability, accuracy and punctuality.
The survey is subject to Eurostat's quality assessment: methodological comparisons, precision calculations and benchmarking.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
The main users of the road freight statistics are:
Ministries and other public organisms
Autonomous Communities
Companies
Researchers and universities
Eurostat
Direct use as an indicator for the analysis of economic activity and transport flows.
Indirect use: studies executed by researchers.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
No satisfaction survey has been carried out.
12.3. Completeness
The survey provide all the information required by the national and international regulations related to this statistical operation.
Small goods vehicles (with loading capacity below 3.5 tonnes) and vehicles registered in others countries are not covered by the survey data.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The sampling design tries to minimize sampling errors and the different survey processes are intended to eliminate or decrease its errors in the collection stage (response rate and filter control) as well as in edition and imputation stages.
The main source of error is probably non-response. There is no evidence that the response rate is distributed in a way that generates a bias in the index or its evolution.
As for non-sampling errors, different processes are directed to eliminate or reduce as far as possible such errors.
13.2. Sampling error
According to the results obtained by Eurostat, the standard percentage error (95% confidence) of annual estimates for tonnes transported, tonne-kilometres performed and total kilometres travelled loaded is not more than 5% for total goods road transport and for national goods road transport.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Different controls of non-sampling errors are carried out throughout the whole process.
Coverage: The impact of imperfection of the relevant business register on the quality of the key statistics is considered as low. An attempt is made to contact the informant at least six different times by telephone or by e-mail and two by postal mail. The final response coverage is always greater than 70%.
Survey instrument and interviewer: the survey uses simple questionnaires where it appears a contact person who could resolve any doubts about it. These contact persons are prepared to answer any questions. In most cases the survey is answered by telephone, with the help of specialized agent.
Methods used for taking into account the unit non-response: Corrector factor in the weighting procedure for imputation.
Partial non-response: non exist partial non-response If an informant can’t provide all the information, it is considered as unit non-response. These cases are practically null.
14.1. Timeliness
Data are normally updated once per quarter.
If new annual data (all four quarters of a calendar year) have become available, the annual datasets are also updated together with the quarterly datasets.
14.2. Punctuality
Road freight data are transmitted to Eurostat within 5 months after the end of the reference period, as specified in the Regulation (EU) No 70/2012.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The comparability between EU countries is ensured by Regulation (EU) No 70/2012, which provides the statistical homogeneity with other European Union countries that spread the same information for their respective industrial sector. This ensures a good comparability between national data and good-quality European aggregates.
The methodology is common throughout the national territory, which guarantees comparability between all the autonomous communities.
15.2. Comparability - over time
The time series are completely homogeneous since 2002.
From 1993 to 2001, the series does not include “intra-municipal” transport (origin and destination in the same municipality).
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Comparisons are made with other data sources or statistical domains (specific studies, evolution of other economic variables, etc.).
15.4. Coherence - internal
Coherence among variables is compared in all stages of the statistical process. The aggregates are always consistent with their main sub-aggregates.
The budgetary credit necessary to finance this statistic is around 700 thousand euros per year.
17.1. Data revision - policy
We do not foresee revisions after the sending of final data to Eurostat and the release at national level.
17.2. Data revision - practice
No revisions have been made in recent years.
18.1. Source data
Sampling register used for the survey
Name of register:
Registro de Empresas y Actividades de Transporte
Name of organisation who maintains the register:
Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility
Frequency of update:
Continuously
Frequency of access to draw the samples:
Once a month
Arrangements for accessing the register:
The register belongs to the Ministry
Information obtained from the register:
Name, registration number, address, type of vehicle, type of transport (own account or hire or reward), range of authorisation of action of the vehicle (local, national, international), year of registration, load capacity and maximum permissible weight, region (Autonomous Community) where the vehicle is registered.
Used in stratification: Type of transport, region (Autonomous Community) where the vehicle is registered, load capacity and type of vehicle.
Procedure for reminders:
During the week of reference and the following four weeks, daily phone calls are made.
During this period, if the company is not found, new addresses and telephone numbers of the companies are looked for.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Data are collected continuously every month of the year.
18.3. Data collection
Sampling methodology
Statistical unit:
Tractive vehicle
Types of units excluded:
'Light' transport vehicles: less than 3.5 tonnes weight capacity and less than 6 tonnes of maximum permissible weight.
Special vehicles with very high weight capacity or dimensions, which need a special registration number.
Military vehicles and those belonging to Public Administrations.
Vehicles whose use is not for transport of goods: excavators, rollers, etc.
Time unit:
1 week
Time units of quarter 4 of 2024 included in the survey:
All (13 weeks)
Stratification:
There are 10 strata (in proportion to the frame):
Type of transport:
1: own account
2: hire or reward
Type of vehicle and weight capacity:
1: lorries of 3.6 to 10 tonnes
2: lorries of 10.1 to 13.5 tonnes
3: lorries of over 13.5 tonnes
4: tractors
Region (Autonomous Community) where the vehicle is registered
1: Islas Canarias
2: Remaining regions
Recording of weight of goods:
When possible, the weight of containers is excluded, but in most cases the informant only knows the total weight carried. The weight of goods rarely excludes swap bodies and pallets.
Recording of journey data sent to Eurostat:
Multi stop: Multi-stop journeys are coded as consignments.
Collection/delivery: Without points of loading and/or unloading of the goods,
Tonne-kilometres = maximum tonnes * kilometres / 2.
Only the main type of goods is requested (but all tonnes).
Calculation of weighting factors:
N = number of vehicles in the register (in a stratum)
S = number of questionnaires used in analysis (in A1 dataset)
S’ = number of vehicles for which no activity was recorded, but vehicles could be considered as active (holiday, no work, etc.)
T = number of weeks in the month
Optional variables covered:
A1. Vehicle-related variables:
vehicle empty kilometres (YES)
possibility of using vehicles for combined transport (NO)
vehicle operator’s NACE Rev. 2 at class level (four-digit level) (YES)
A2. Journey-related variables:
axle configuration according to the nomenclature defined in the Regulation on road transport statistics (YES)
place of loading, if any, of the road transport vehicle on another means of transport (YES)
place of unloading, if any, of the road transport vehicle from another means of transport (YES)
degree of loading : situation ‘fully loaded’ (procedure 2) or ‘not fully loaded’ (procedure 1) of the goods road transport vehicle during the journey in question, in terms of maximum volume of space used during the journey (procedure 0 = by convention for unladen journeys) (YES)
A3. Goods-related variables:
type of freight (Cargo types) as defined in the Regulation (YES)
Additional variables collected compared to the legal requirements:
Environmental impact-related variables: none
Main figures
2023
2024
Total number of relevant goods vehicles in the country
383,323
394,197
Number of vehicles selected for initial sample and questionnaires despatched to vehicle owners.
54,000
53,000
Number of cases where no vehicle activity was recorded during the sampled period but the vehicle could be considered as part of the active stock
9,593
9,914
Number of cases classified as non-respondents.
578
800
Number of cases where sample register information was wrong and response could not be used.
17,349
16,461
Number of questionnaires used in analysis
26,480
25,825
18.4. Data validation
National level:
About 400 different validation controls are applied.
From Eurostat:
Since 1999, micro-data from the reporting countries have to be submitted according to Commission Regulation 2163/2001. The data are then checked and validated by EUROSTAT (verification of many different codes used (NUTS 3, numeric or alphabetic variables) correctness of linked questionnaires in the different dataset, etc…). Detected errors are then reported back to the data sender with the request for correction, this is an iterative process until at least 99.5% of all data records are validated and loaded in the database.
18.5. Data compilation
Each record is independent and complete. The data is added weekly.
18.6. Adjustment
Sampling methodology
Statistical unit:
Tractive vehicle
Types of units excluded:
'Light' transport vehicles: less than 3.5 tonnes weight capacity and less than 6 tonnes of maximum permissible weight.
Special vehicles with very high weight capacity or dimensions, which need a special registration number.
Military vehicles and those belonging to Public Administrations.
Vehicles whose use is not for transport of goods: excavators, rollers, etc.
Time unit:
1 week
Time units of quarter 4 of 2024 included in the survey:
All (13 weeks)
Stratification:
There are 10 strata (in proportion to the frame):
Type of transport:
1: own account
2: hire or reward
Type of vehicle and weight capacity:
1: lorries of 3.6 to 10 tonnes
2: lorries of 10.1 to 13.5 tonnes
3: lorries of over 13.5 tonnes
4: tractors
Region (Autonomous Community) where the vehicle is registered
1: Islas Canarias
2: Remaining regions
Recording of weight of goods:
When possible, the weight of containers is excluded, but in most cases the informant only knows the total weight carried. The weight of goods rarely excludes swap bodies and pallets.
Recording of journey data sent to Eurostat:
Multi stop: Multi-stop journeys are coded as consignments.
Collection/delivery: Without points of loading and/or unloading of the goods,
Tonne-kilometres = maximum tonnes * kilometres / 2.
Only the main type of goods is requested (but all tonnes).
Calculation of weighting factors:
N = number of vehicles in the register (in a stratum)
S = number of questionnaires used in analysis (in A1 dataset)
S’ = number of vehicles for which no activity was recorded, but vehicles could be considered as active (holiday, no work, etc.)
T = number of weeks in the month
Optional variables covered:
A1. Vehicle-related variables:
vehicle empty kilometres (YES)
possibility of using vehicles for combined transport (NO)
vehicle operator’s NACE Rev. 2 at class level (four-digit level) (YES)
A2. Journey-related variables:
axle configuration according to the nomenclature defined in the Regulation on road transport statistics (YES)
place of loading, if any, of the road transport vehicle on another means of transport (YES)
place of unloading, if any, of the road transport vehicle from another means of transport (YES)
degree of loading : situation ‘fully loaded’ (procedure 2) or ‘not fully loaded’ (procedure 1) of the goods road transport vehicle during the journey in question, in terms of maximum volume of space used during the journey (procedure 0 = by convention for unladen journeys) (YES)
A3. Goods-related variables:
type of freight (Cargo types) as defined in the Regulation (YES)
Additional variables collected compared to the legal requirements:
Environmental impact-related variables: none
Main figures
2023
2024
Total number of relevant goods vehicles in the country
383,323
394,197
Number of vehicles selected for initial sample and questionnaires despatched to vehicle owners.
54,000
53,000
Number of cases where no vehicle activity was recorded during the sampled period but the vehicle could be considered as part of the active stock
9,593
9,914
Number of cases classified as non-respondents.
578
800
Number of cases where sample register information was wrong and response could not be used.
17,349
16,461
Number of questionnaires used in analysis
26,480
25,825
No comment
Road freight data collection consists of three datasets with quarterly periodicity: 1. Vehicle related variables dataset for a sample of road good motor vehicles contain, among others, indication about the type and age of the vehicle, the economic activity of the owner of the vehicle, the total kilometres loaded or empty. 2. Journey related variables dataset which contain, among others, indications about weight of goods, regions of loading and unloading, distance driven, and tonne-kilometres performed during a journey 3. Goods related variables dataset which contain, among others, the type of goods transported and their weight and distance travelled, regions of loading and unloading.
2 September 2024
The main concepts used in Road freight statistics are the following:
A goods road motor vehicle is any single road transport vehicle (lorry), or combination of road vehicles, namely road train (lorry with trailer) or articulated vehicle (road tractor with semi-trailer), designed to carry goods.
Basic transport operation is the transport of one type of goods (defined by reference to a particular nomenclature level) from a place of origin, in which the merchandise is loaded, to one of destiny, in which it is discharged. Also included are the so-called "empty operations", that is, the displacements made without goods between a place of unloading and another of loading.
Goods carried by road. It is the movable thing that moves from one place to another by goods vehicle. When a vehicle transports two kinds of different goods, it is considered that it carries out two transport operations.
Cross-trade is international road transport between two different countries performed by a road motor vehicle registered in a third country.
National transport is road transport between two places (a place of loading and a place of unloading) located in the same country by a vehicle registered in that country.
International transport is road transport between two places (a place of loading and a place of unloading) in two different countries and cabotage by road. It may involve transit through one or more additional country or countries.
Transit is any loaded or empty road motor vehicle, which enters and leaves a country at different points by whatever means of transport, provided the total journey within the country is by road and that there is no loading or unloading in the country.
Road cabotage transport is road transport between two places (a place of loading and a place of unloading) in the same country by a vehicle not registered in that country. It may involve transit through one or more additional country or countries.
Place of loading/unloading of a goods road vehicle on another mode of transport
Place of loading (of the goods road transport vehicle on another mode of transport): The place of loading is the first place where the goods road motor vehicle was loaded on to another mode of transport (usually a ship or a rail wagon).
Place of unloading (of the goods road transport vehicle from another mode of transport): The place of unloading is the last place where the goods road motor vehicle was unloaded from another mode of transport (usually a ship or a rail wagon)
The reporting unit for road freight transport statistics is the goods road transport vehicle.
The number of goods vehicles in Spain in recent years is around 380,000. A sample surveys are carried out to collect information.
The data provided are goods vehicles registered in Spain uniquely.
The road data are collected on a quarterly basis and are reported to Eurostat five months after the end of the reference period.
The sampling design tries to minimize sampling errors and the different survey processes are intended to eliminate or decrease its errors in the collection stage (response rate and filter control) as well as in edition and imputation stages.
The main source of error is probably non-response. There is no evidence that the response rate is distributed in a way that generates a bias in the index or its evolution.
As for non-sampling errors, different processes are directed to eliminate or reduce as far as possible such errors.
Data are collected in tonnes, tonne-kilometres, vehicle-kilometres and in number of journeys (journey data) and in number of basic transport operations.
Each record is independent and complete. The data is added weekly.
Sampling register used for the survey
Name of register:
Registro de Empresas y Actividades de Transporte
Name of organisation who maintains the register:
Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility
Frequency of update:
Continuously
Frequency of access to draw the samples:
Once a month
Arrangements for accessing the register:
The register belongs to the Ministry
Information obtained from the register:
Name, registration number, address, type of vehicle, type of transport (own account or hire or reward), range of authorisation of action of the vehicle (local, national, international), year of registration, load capacity and maximum permissible weight, region (Autonomous Community) where the vehicle is registered.
Used in stratification: Type of transport, region (Autonomous Community) where the vehicle is registered, load capacity and type of vehicle.
Procedure for reminders:
During the week of reference and the following four weeks, daily phone calls are made.
During this period, if the company is not found, new addresses and telephone numbers of the companies are looked for.
The quarterly data is disseminated within two months after the reference period.
Data are normally updated once per quarter.
If new annual data (all four quarters of a calendar year) have become available, the annual datasets are also updated together with the quarterly datasets.
The comparability between EU countries is ensured by Regulation (EU) No 70/2012, which provides the statistical homogeneity with other European Union countries that spread the same information for their respective industrial sector. This ensures a good comparability between national data and good-quality European aggregates.
The methodology is common throughout the national territory, which guarantees comparability between all the autonomous communities.
The time series are completely homogeneous since 2002.
From 1993 to 2001, the series does not include “intra-municipal” transport (origin and destination in the same municipality).
