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.
Directorate for statistical data and studies (SDES)
1.2. Contact organisation unit
Departement for Transport Statistics
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
Bureau des statistiques de la route et des véhicules
Sous-direction des statistiques des transports
Service des données et des études statistiques
Commissariat Général au Développement Durable
Tour Sequoia 92055 La Défense CEDEX
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
21 November 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
21 November 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
21 November 2025
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 other 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 optional variable type of cargo 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
The survey covers heavy goods vehicles, lorries and road tractors less than 25 years old registered in mainland France, with a gross vehicle weight rating of over 3.5 tonnes, excluding vehicles belonging to public authorities, mobile traders, fairground operators, driving schools and long-distance transport companies.
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 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. Cross trade is International road transport between two different countries performed by a road motor vehicle registered in a third country. 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. Goods carried by road are any goods moved by goods vehicle 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 or the local unit (a site of a company, as identified in the national business register).
3.6. Statistical population
As the total number of statistical units (close to 500 000 véhicules) is very large, sample surveys are carried out to collect information.
3.7. Reference area
The data provided cover only goods transport vehicles registered in metropolitan France.
3.8. Coverage - Time
The survey has been in place since 1952. The current statistical series with consistent methodology date back to 2014.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Data are collected in tonnes, tonne-kilometres, vehicle-kilometres and in number of journeys (journey data) or in number of basic transport operations (BTO (goods related data)).
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
National level:
Given the favourable opinion of the National Council for Statistical Information, this survey is recognised as being of general interest and statistical quality, in accordance with Law No. 51-711 of 7 June 1951 on the obligation, coordination and confidentiality of statistics. It has been granted visa 2024H037TR by the Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry, valid for the year 2024.
Access to individual data may be authorised by the statistical confidentiality committee for research projects in accordance with the law of 7 June 1951.
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:
Law no.51-711 of 7 June 1951 (amended) on legal obligation, coordination and confidentiality in the field of statistics defines statistical confidentiality, its limits and conditions of application.
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
A minimum of ten observations is required to publish a statistical aggregate (Commission Regulation (EC) No 6/2003 of 30 December 2002 concerning the dissemination of statistics on the carriage of goods by road).
8.1. Release calendar
Provisional quarterly results are published between three and four months after the end of the quarter. Final annual results are released 10 months after the end of the previous year.
The release policy is available on the SDES website
Provisional quarterly results and Final annual results.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
In accordance with the principle of impartiality and objectivity set out in the European Statistics Code of Practice, the French public statistical service is committed to announcing in advance the dates and times of publication of economic statistics and to providing access to statistical publications to all users at the same time and under the same conditions. Any privileged access prior to dissemination granted to an external user is limited, controlled and made public.
The schedule for the dissemination of quarterly TRM publications is announced in a calendar four months prior to their publication.
The Label Committee of the National Council for Statistical Information ensures that the survey's methodological framework is appropriate for granting a certificate of general interest and statistical quality. The survey also has a mandatory nature.
A consultation committee on the survey meets periodically. It brings together the main users of the survey: representatives of the Department for Transport, professional road haulage unions
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Provisional results are presented quarterly to professional unions. Annual results are presented each year during a plenary meeting reviewing the Transport sector.
12.3. Completeness
The published results cover vehicules under 15 years old.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The quality of the survey depends on the reliability of the vehicle register, the sample size and the response rate of the survey.
13.2. Sampling error
The applied sampling rate ensures a sampling error of less than 5% for the estimation of tonnes and tonne-kilometres.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Calmar calibration method is used for calibration and treatment of nonresponse with the use of auxiliary information.
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) 70//2012.
A new methodology was implemented in 2020. Data up to 2014 have been backcasted using a consistent methodology (reweighting method).
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Modal shares are calculated each year by transport mode, ensuring the robustness of the published figures.
15.4. Coherence - internal
The TRM survey data (in kilometres) are not currently aligned with the administrative kilometre records from the technical inspections of vehicles in the register. Implementation of this alignment is planned for the future (methodological work to be carried out).
For respondants, the average survey burden is estimated at 35 minutes.
17.1. Data revision - policy
When a methodological change resulting in a series break is implemented, backcasted data are submitted to Eurostat for revision.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Last data revision dates back to 2020.
18.1. Source data
Sampling register used for the survey
Name of register: National vehicle register (Répertoire statistique des véhicules routiers)
Name of organisation who maintains the register: Ministry for the Ecological Transition Directorate for statistical data and studies (SDES)
Frequency of update: The national register is updated daily. The sampling frame is annual with three quarterly updates
Frequency of access to draw the samples: Annual with quarterly updates
Arrangements for accessing the register: The data are forwarded by the ministry daily.
Information obtained from the register: Registration; date of first registration; brand; model; Type of vehicle (lorry or road tractor); type of body; power source; fiscal power; load capacity; maximum permissible weight; useful load; name and address of the owner; and administrative region (NUTS3). Used in stratification: date of first registration; type and age of the vehicle; load capacity (lorry); fiscal power; maximum permissible weight (road tractor); main activity of the enterprise; and administrative region (NUTS1).
Procedure for reminders: First reminder: 6 weeks after the surveyed week. Second reminder: 12 weeks after the surveyed week, with a new copy of the questionnaire sent out.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Weekly
18.3. Data collection
Sampling methodology
Statistical unit:
Tractive vehicle
Types of units excluded:
Motor vehicles more than 15 years or older at the time of selection of the annual sample (31st October) Lorries exceeding 3.5 tonnes PTAC < Load capacity < 32.6 tonnes. Road tractors: 5 tonnes PTRA <= maximum permissible weight <= 44.5 tonnes Special purpose road vehicles such as garbage trucks, fire brigade vehicles, ambulances, cranes, as well as military vehicles and vehicles belonging to government agencies or to owners involved in activities such as driving schools, fairgrounds, etc. Vehicles that did not have a compulsory vehicle check within 15 months before the sample selection date and that were not first registered during those 15 months
Time unit:
1 week
Time unit of quarter 1 of 2024 included in the survey:
All (13 weeks):
Q1 weeks 1 to 13
Q2 weeks 14 to 26
Q3 weeks 27 to 39
Q4 weeks 40 to 52
Stratification:
Survey using unequal probabilities sampling with an overrepresentation of road tractors (compared to trucks), of the newest vehicles, of trucks with a high Maximum Permissible Laden Weight (MPLW), or the most powerful road tractors (in the fiscal sense), and of companies in the freight transport sector. The sampling base is separated based on the parity of the company's SIREN number. The refreshed half-sample consists of companies with the same parity as the survey year, while the carried-over half-sample consists of companies with the same parity as the previous year. The sampling rate is determined by stratum, based on the following criteria: vehicle type, age range, vehicle capacity, and company sector (grouped into 9 categories). The sampling base with the same parity as the sample to be renewed is sorted by the company's sector of activity, by region (NUTS 1), by the company's SIREN number, by a variable combining the gender and age of the vehicle, and finally, by a variable grouping trucks by MPLW and road tractors by fiscal power. Each group of vehicles defined by the company's sector, grouped into 9 categories, and by the categories of the variables ‘gender/age’ and ‘MPLW/fiscal power’ is associated with a probability of selection reflecting the sampling rate applied within the stratum. It is the highest for very recent road tractors in the transport sector and the lowest for the oldest trucks outside of the transport sector. The sample is then drawn using unequal probabilities based on the values defined for each class using the systematic sampling method in the sorted sampling base.
Recording of weight of goods:Gross weight of goods is collected, i.e., containers swap bodies and pallets are excluded.
Recording journey data sent to Eurostat:
Multi stop: Multi-stop journeys are coded as consignments. Collection/delivery: In the recording of type 3, we describe one basic transport operation with the total weight of goods (A3.2 in table A3) and the total length of the journey (A3.7 in table A3). To calculate the number of tonne-kilometres, we multiply the total weight of goods by the total length of the journey and divide the result by 2, which gives the same result as if the vehicle had been unloading uniformly throughout the journey. Calculation of weighting factors: Calmar calibration method is used for calibration and treatment of nonresponse with the use of auxiliary information. Calmar is a SAS macro program that implements the calibration methods. The program adjusts samples, through reweighting of individuals, using auxiliary information available from a number of variables referred to as calibration variables. The weights produced by this method are used to calibrate the sample on known population totals in the case of quantitative variables and on known category frequencies in the case of qualitative variables. Calmar is an acronym for CALibration on MARgins, an adjustment technique which adjusts the margins (estimated from a sample) of a contingency table of two or more qualitative variables to the known population margins. Technical inspections are used as auxiliary information to distinguish, among non-responding vehicles, those within the scope of the survey (having undergone a recent technical inspection within the data collection period) from the others. The first step of calibration involves weighting the responding and non-responding vehicles for which auxiliary information has determined their inclusion or exclusion from the survey scope in order to reflect the structure of the vehicle fleet. The calibration margins for the first quarter are provided by the vehicle fleet used as the sampling base during the annual draw, with the reference date being October 31st of the preceding year. The margins for the subsequent quarters are obtained by adding the vehicles that entered the survey scope on the reference dates of the following quarters and subtracting those that exited (January 31st for Q2, April 30th for Q3, and July 31st for Q4). The variables used for calibration grouping are region (NUTS 1), company activity (9 groups), and a variable that combines the gender and age range of the vehicle. Samples are calibrated in groups of 4 or 5 consecutive weeks belonging to the same month according to the ISO week definition. A week spanning two months is attributed to the month containing its Thursday, following the ISO standard. Three monthly calibrations using quarterly margins (multiplied by a factor of 4 or 5, depending on the number of weeks attributed to the month) are performed to obtain calibration for the 13 consecutive weeks within a survey quarter, still according to the ISO week. These three-monthly calibrations ensure a balanced distribution between months with high or low activity within the same quarter, for example, between July, August, and September in Q3. To achieve this balance between weeks within the same month, for example, in December with reduced activity during the Christmas week, the ‘week’ variable is also added as a calibration variable. Thus, the sum of the weights of vehicles in the same survey week is equal to the size of the vehicle fleet on the reference date of the quarter. The sum of weights for an ISO month of calibration is equal to 4 or 5 times the size of the vehicle fleet, and for the quarter, it is 13 times that size. The second step of calibration involves calibrating the sample of responding vehicles within the survey scope according to the estimated counts within the same margin criteria as in the first step. The margins are calculated based on the weights obtained after the first step for both responding and non-responding vehicles within the survey scope.
Additional (optional) variables collected compared to the legal requirements:
Environmental impact-related variables: Average fuel consumption per 100 km.
A1. Vehicle-related variables:
possibility of using vehicles for combined transport (NO);
vehicle operator’s NACE Rev. 2 at class level (four-digit level) (YES);
vehicle empty kilometres (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).
18.4. Data validation
Data are verified by a team of survey controllers using a distance validation tool.
18.5. Data compilation
Data undergo automated consistency checks.
The influential units are verified via macro controls
Respondents are reweighted according to the size of vehicle fleet used as the sampling base.
18.6. Adjustment
Quarterly results are adjusted for seasonal variations and working days.
An IT overhaul of the collection application is underway (planned implementation: 2026).
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 other 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.
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 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. Cross trade is International road transport between two different countries performed by a road motor vehicle registered in a third country. 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. Goods carried by road are any goods moved by goods vehicle 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 or the local unit (a site of a company, as identified in the national business register).
As the total number of statistical units (close to 500 000 véhicules) is very large, sample surveys are carried out to collect information.
The data provided cover only goods transport vehicles registered in metropolitan France.
The road data are collected on a quarterly basis and are reported to Eurostat five months after the end of the reference period.
The quality of the survey depends on the reliability of the vehicle register, the sample size and the response rate of the survey.
Data are collected in tonnes, tonne-kilometres, vehicle-kilometres and in number of journeys (journey data) or in number of basic transport operations (BTO (goods related data)).
Data undergo automated consistency checks.
The influential units are verified via macro controls
Respondents are reweighted according to the size of vehicle fleet used as the sampling base.
Sampling register used for the survey
Name of register: National vehicle register (Répertoire statistique des véhicules routiers)
Name of organisation who maintains the register: Ministry for the Ecological Transition Directorate for statistical data and studies (SDES)
Frequency of update: The national register is updated daily. The sampling frame is annual with three quarterly updates
Frequency of access to draw the samples: Annual with quarterly updates
Arrangements for accessing the register: The data are forwarded by the ministry daily.
Information obtained from the register: Registration; date of first registration; brand; model; Type of vehicle (lorry or road tractor); type of body; power source; fiscal power; load capacity; maximum permissible weight; useful load; name and address of the owner; and administrative region (NUTS3). Used in stratification: date of first registration; type and age of the vehicle; load capacity (lorry); fiscal power; maximum permissible weight (road tractor); main activity of the enterprise; and administrative region (NUTS1).
Procedure for reminders: First reminder: 6 weeks after the surveyed week. Second reminder: 12 weeks after the surveyed week, with a new copy of the questionnaire sent out.
Provisional quarterly results and Final annual results.
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.
