GUS (Glowny Urzad Statystyczny) - Statistics Poland

Statistics Centre for Transport and Communication

Jana Matejki 22, 70-530 Szczecin, Poland

Statistics Poland collect data with quarterly periodicity.

Data concerning transport of goods includes national and international transport carried out by Polish carriers. National goods road transport is understood as transport, in which both the loading of goods and their unloading took place on the territory of Poland.

International goods road transport includes the carriage of:

• exported goods, i.e. goods loaded in Poland onto motor vehicles, carried on the vehicles and unloaded abroad;

• imported goods, i.e. goods loaded abroad onto motor vehicles, carried on the vehicles and unloaded in Poland;

• goods within cross-trade, i.e. carriage of goods, whose place of loading and unloading is located on the territories of two different countries, other than Poland. The data include also carriage, whose journey runs partially through the territory of Poland (i.e. transit via Poland);

• goods within cabotage, i.e. carriage of goods, whose place of loading and unloading is located on the territory of the same country, other than Poland.

The weight of transported goods in tonnes is the gross weight of goods together with packages, and for transport in containers – the gross weight together with the packages and the weight of the container.

The sample survey was carried out in accordance with the Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2012 on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods by road (recast) – OJ L 32 of 3 February 2012 – replaced the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1172/98 and had in its scope of observation registered on the territories of all voivodships lorries (with the maximum permissible laden weight of more than 3.5 tonnes) and road tractors not older than 25 years randomly selected to observe their activity during one week in a year. The survey lasted 52 weeks from 3 January 2022 to 1 January 2023.

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.

Statistics on carriage of goods by road apply the following statistical classifications:

• The type of goods transported by road was collected, until reference year 2007 (included), according to the 24 groups of goods following the "Standard Goods Classification for Transport Statistics/Revised (NST)",.
• The regional coding is done in conformity with European legislation: "NUTS Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics" (see also NUTS). Economic activity class of the vehicle owner is an optional variable. Data were collected according to NACE Rev. 1 until the end of 2007. From the beginning of 2008 onwards, the economic activity has been classified according to NACE Rev. 2 (see  "Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community, Rev. 2 (NACE Rev. 2)").
• Type of dangerous goods is a mandatory variable, but it is reported only for those goods that fall into this category. The classification is based on "European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road", Chapter 2.1, as published in Annex E of Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/98. Directive 2008/68/EC makes reference to ADR as regards the transport of dangerous goods by road.

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).

Road freight transport covers owners and users of trucks and road tractors.

The sample survey was carried out in accordance with the Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2012 on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods by road (recast) – OJ L 32 of 3 February 2012 – replaced the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1172/98 and had in its scope of observation registered on the territories of all voivodships lorries (with the maximum permissible laden weight of more than 3.5 tonnes) and road tractors not older than 25 years randomly selected to observe their activity during one week in a year. The survey lasted 52 weeks from 3 January 2022 to 1 January 2023.

Type of units excluded:

• Road motor vehicles over 25 yers old,
• Lorries with 3.5 and less than 3.5 tonnes maximum permissible weight and less than 1.5 tonnes load capacity,
• Military vehicles, vehicles of the border guard, police vehicles, vehicles belonging to central or local public administrations and agricultural tractors,
• Special purposes vehicles and vehicle not adjusted to carry goods.

The main concepts used in Road freight statistics are the following, more details can be found in the Road freight transport methodology manual : 

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 units for road freight transport statistics are:

• entities of the national economy providing: road transport for hire or reward and on own account,
• Entities providing leasing and credit services in the scope of owned or used trucks with a maximum total weight of over 3.5 tonnes and a payload of over 1.5 tonnes as well as tractor units.

Since the total number of statistical units is very large, surveys are carried out on a representative sample – it concerns about 50 thousand cars per year, which is about 7.5% sample on the survey.

The data provided are goods vehicles registered in the declaring country uniquely.

All data sets are provided since 2004.

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 period of observation covers freight transport and mileage made during one predetermined week of the year for the drawn vehicle.

National level:

• LEGAL ACT of June 29, 1995 on official statistics

European level: 

• REGULATION (EU) N° 70/2012   

National level :

LEGAL ACT of June 29, 1995 on official statistics

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.

National level:

• LEGAL ACT of June 29, 1995 on official statistics (article 10 and 38),
• LEGAL ACT of May 10, 2018 on personal data protection.

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.

The procedures with regard to statistical confidentiality follows the Handbook on Statistical Disclosure Control (2010) and the LEGAL ACT of June 29, 1995 on official statistics (article 10 and 38).

All road freight micro-data are treated as if they were confidential. This means the following:

• data transmission to Eurostat takes place in encrypted format using the eDAMIS data transmission tool,
• data are treated on a secured server, to which access is restricted and strictly controlled,
• all people working with the road freight micro-data must sign an agreement stipulating that they respect the rules of the treatment of confidential data,
• dissemination of the data  can only take place if the value is based on more than 10 vehicle records (see Commission Regulation (EC) 6/2003, Article 3 (1)),
• semi-aggregated "data exchange tables" that are submitted back to the reporting countries (Article 3(2) of Regulation 6/2003) are also treated as if they were confidential: encrypted transmission through eDAMIS, restricted access to data in the reporting countries, publication of results by the reporting countries only if a value is based on more than 10 vehicle records.

All freight transport statistics are published on site Statistics Poland.

Relases dates are publicly available on site Statistics Poland.

Since released dates are planned sometimes far in advance, changes of dates might occur in both directions. Therefore, the Release Calendar is updated continuously.

Release Calendar can be found here.

Road freight transport statistics are available free of charge to all users. More detailed information or other layouts can be obtained for a fee. All the release data in road freight transport is available to all users in the same time. Before the data will be available on the site, the publication about Transport Activity results will be published.

Quarterly – Macroeconomic Data Bank

Annually – Transport publications

No press releases.

List of regular publications containing road freight transport data:

• Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Poland - annual edition
• Concise Statistical Yearbook of Poland - annual edition
• Transport - activity results - annual edition
• Statistical Yearbook of the Regions - Poland - annual edition
• Poland - macroeconomic indicators - monthly, quarterly and annual indicators
• Freight and passenger transport - signal publication - annual edition

List of online databases:

• Local Data Bank
• Knowledge Databases
• Eurostat Database

Microdata is not available to users due to statistical confidentiality.

Not applicable

National level:

Statistics Poland add methodological notes to each publication with basic informations. Also on the website of the Statistics Poland there is a description about survey for road freight transport. More detailed informations are available only for employees on internal network.

International level:

National characteristics of surveys, conducted in the reporting countries in 2017, were published in Methodologies used in surveys of road freight transport in Member States, EFTA and Candidate Countries. This latter publication also contains data on response rates, vehicle registers' quality, sampling rates and statistical errors in surveys carried out in 2016.

At the end of each study, documentation is created from the course of the study which includes among others:

- study implementation schedule,

- survey form with explanations,

- assumptions for completeness, logical and accounting control, algorithms, method of calculating and controlling control and result boards,

- report on the completeness,

- report on how the study was conducted.

Quality policy is defined and made available to the public. An organisational structure and tools are in place to deal with quality management. There are procedures in place to plan, monitor and improve the quality of the statistical processes.

Public statistics are an essential element of the proper functioning of a democratic society. For gouvernment, statistical data are the basis for developing economic and social development programs, rational distribution of funds, and fairer distribution of social assistance. For wide circles of society, statistical information is an indispensable source of information enabling the active participation of citizens in social life, participation in public debates on the most important topics related to economic and social life of their own environment, as well as to assess the effectiveness of state and local government administration of adopted social and development programs economic.

There are several rules that Statistics Poland applies when conducting statistical surveys:

• utility,
• timeliness and punctuality,
• accessibility and transparency,
• comparability,
• cohesion.

Data quality can be assessed as high. There is a set of validation rules and quality checks put in place, which detect various types of issues. In case of any issues detected, the data providers are contacted to provide explanations or/and revise the data accordingly.

Annually, Eurostat provides a data quality report with a summary of the main findings affecting quality as well as showing the solution adopted and the materiality of the existing differences.

The main weakness of the data concerns goods that are recorded by the rapporteurs, sometimes in tonnes and sometimes in kilograms.

The purpose of collecting road freight transport data is to provide information on the level and structure of transport services and on the transport potential for the purposes of shaping economic policy as well as transport market analysis and research.

Providing data for the purposes of implemented strategies and programs:

• Transport Development Strategy,
• Operational Program - Infrastructure and Environment,
• Voivodship Development Strategies,
• Strategy for Responsible Development.

Users needs:

• central government administration,
• scientific/research institutes,
• universities - students, academic teachers,
• Eurostat and other foreign statistical institutions,
• individual foreign recipients,
• international organizations,
• local government administration - voivoships.

Users demand for data regarding poviats and communes, can not be fulfilled as such information is not collected within the data collection.

There was no user survey on road freight transport statistics data carried out so far.

The data collection on road freight transport statistics follows the provisions of the Regulation 70/2012. All variables in all data sets are provided.

Overall accuracy of the road freight transport statistics is good. The processing with several plausibility checks as well as checks done before transmitting data to Eurostat give a high accuracy of the data. There are also some logical and accounting control to find as much as possible errors or mistakes.

The most errors occur on the part of respondents - which in comparison to the overall constitute a small percentage. The most common mistake is information about the capacity of vehicles and failure to write all journeys in a given period, which we try to eliminate by providing respondents with tips and explanations with examples on how to complete the survey.

A representative method is used in the study. Weight correction is applied taking into account:

- no response

- over coverage errors (units occurring in the sampling frame but not belonging to the study population).

There is no special treatment for outliers. The precision of estimates in the form of cv (coefficient of variation) is estimated. Precision is estimated using the Surveymeans procedure at SAS, taking into account stratification and the population number of layers.

Errors:

Under coverage – not applicable,

Over coverage – under 5%,

Survey instrument – not applicable,

Respondent – small,

Interviewer – not applicable,

Unit (non)response – subjective - 10-20%, objective – under 5%,

Processing errors – not relevant,

Model assumptions errors – not applicable

In order to eliminate the above errors, the following tasks are carried out:
- updating the sampling frame with available data sources,
- analysis of vehicles in the frame based on the unique designation of vehicles, avoiding the draw of repeated vehicles,
- providing respondents with tips and explanations with examples,
- detailed logical and accounting control,
- interviewer training,
- reminders to entities that have not submitted their reports,
- analysis of assumptions to be checked before each subsequent edition of the study.

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.

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. Most data is transmitted on time. Slight delays resulted from the transfer of duties from one office to another.

There are no problems of comparability for freight transport data collection with a very high data comparability across countries due to the common legal basis. Comparisons of the data regarding freight transport with Eurostat (so-called mirror checks) allow further the detection of possible inconsistencies which can be corrected if possible.

Data for some regions might not be comparable due to the changes in the NUTS classification.

As from 2004 the statistics on road freight transport are comparable over time, as they are collected following fully the provisions of the legal act – Regulation 70/2012. Time series checks are regularly made to detect inconsistencies in the data. There were no time series breaks. The detailed information on eventual breaks in the time series is provided in the Country Specific Notes.

There are no other data sources with which to compare statistics on road transport. There are some business activity reports but they have a different subjective scope.

Stable methodology, statistical results consistent at national level, within a given data set and in a time series. Statistics Poland does not conduct any other research regarding road freight transport which could be inconsistent with regulation 70/2012.

Cost of production of a road freight statistics is difficult to estimate.

The average time required to prepare a survey by respondents – 53 min.

The average time for respondents to complete reports – 43 min.

No preliminary adjustments are applied because the preliminary and final data are taken as annual data. There are no rules by which we verify data for dissemination purposes.

There were no corrections in recent years after comparing preliminary and final data.

Sampling register used for the survey

Name of register:

Statistical motor vehicle database (created for the purpose of this survey)

Name of organisation who maintains the register:

Ministry of Digital Affairs

Frequency of update:

Quarterly

Frequency of access to draw the samples:

Quarterly

Arrangements for accessing the register:

The main data source is Central Vehicle Register (maintained by Ministry of the Digital Affairs).

Data as of the end of each quarter are received as 16 files in the XML format (according to NTS 3-level /voivodships) four times a year (at the end of December, March, June, September).

Information obtained from the register:

Information to conduct the survey: registration number, name, address and ID number (REGON) of the vehicle owner or user, type of vehicle, year of manufacture, load capacity, maximum permissible weight, type of body, administrative region (NTS4/district-codes), number of axles information on model and brand of vehicles in case both the vehicle’s load capacity and maximum permissible laden weight is unknown.

Information for the stratification: type of vehicle, year of manufacture, administrative region (NUTS4-level), permissible gross weight, load capacity (for lorries).

Procedure for reminders:

First reminder: 23 day after the survey week.

Second reminder: 3 weeks after first sent reminder.

In 2022, the survey sample amounted to 50 025 goods motor vehicles.

The statistical obligations of the companies with more than 100 vehicles are limited to only 30 % of their fleet.

The survey is carried out throughout the entire year (52 weeks + 1). The time period for collecting data on each statistical unit is one week.

Sampling methodology

Statistical unit:

Tractive vehicle

Types of units excluded:

Road motor vehicles over 25 years old.

Lorries with 3.5 and less than 3.5 tonnes maximum permissible weight and less than 1.5 tonnes load capacity.

Military vehicles, vehicles of the border guard, police vehicles, vehicles belonging to central or local public administrations and agricultural tractors.

Special purposes vehicles and vehicle not adjusted to carry goods.

Estimations for the vehicle-km (or performance) not covered by the survey:

In 2015, about 5 % of total performance is not covered by Regulation 70/2012.

Time unit:

1 week

Time units of quarter 1 of 2022 included in the survey:

All (13 weeks).

Stratification:

The sample has 192 strata and is stratified according to:

• Type of vehicle (2 classes): lorry; road tractor
• Age (4 age-groups): 0–5, 6–10 (younger), 11–15; 16–25 (older)
• Load capacity (2 classes): <6 tonnes; => 6 tonnes (concerning the lorries only)
• 16 regions (from 02 to 32)

The sample is divided into 12 large strata:

• 11 - lorries with under 6 tonnes of load capacity and within the 0–5 age group
• 12 - lorries with under 6 tonnes of load capacity and within the 6–10 age group
• 21 - lorries with under 6 tonnes of load capacity and within the 11–15 age group
• 22 - lorries with under 6 tonnes of load capacity and within the 16–25 age group
• 31 - lorries with 6 tonnes and more than 6 tonnes of load capacity and within the 0–5 age group
• 32 - lorries with 6 tonnes and more than 6 tonnes of load capacity and within the 6–10 age group
• 41 - lorries with 6 tonnes and more than 6 tonnes of load capacity and within the 11–15 age group
• 42 - lorries with 6 tonnes and more than 6 tonnes of load capacity and within the 16–25 age group
• 51 - road tractors within the 0–5 age group
• 52 - road tractors within the 6–10 age group
• 61 - road tractors within the 11–15 age group
• 62 - road tractors within the 16–25 age group

Each of the strata is allocated into 16 regions. The sample is allocated to the stratum in proportion to the population of the stratum and distributed equally among the 13 weeks of the quarter.

Each of strata has a unique code which consists of code for the region and a symbol of the large stratum (e.g. 0211).

The sampling fraction is greater for younger and heavier vehicles, which means that:

• the sample of heavier lorries is one and a half as big as the sample of lighter lorries, while the sample of younger lorries is almost as much as the sample of older lorries
• the sample of younger road tractors is twice as big as the sample of older road tractors

Recording of weight of goods

Gross-gross weight of goods is collected, i.e. containers swap bodies and pallets are included.

Recording of journey data sent to Eurostat:

Single stop: Transport operators are requested to give only one main type of goods (dominant considering the weight of goods).

Multi stop: For each place of loading in the type 2 journeys is recorded only one main type of goods. Goods are unloaded according to the method FIFO (the first type of goods loaded is the first type of goods unloaded)

Collection/delivery: The transport operators give only the first and last place of loading/unloading and the number of stops. Type 3 journeys are recorded only for national transport.

The weight of goods and tonnes-kilometres are calculated according to the formulae:

Weight of goods (A2.2) = weight of goods (A3.2)

Tonnes-km = ∑(A3.2 * A3.7)/20

where:

A3.2 - weight of goods

A3.7 - distance travelled

Other variables: The axle configuration of vehicle and the type of transport are recorded as the most frequently - used during the survey week.

Estimation of maximum permissible laden weight:

For a given vehicle whose load capacity is known, the maximum permissible laden weight is estimated using the most common maximum permissible laden weight recorded by other vehicles of the same load capacity.

In case both the vehicle’s load capacity and maximum permissible laden weight is unknown in Central Vehicle Register, we refer to information regarding model and brand of vehicles. Missing information on maximum permissible laden weight and load capacity is completed on the basis of the vehicle catalogue.

Calculation of weighting factors

N = total number of vehicles in the sampling frame (in a stratum)

n = number of vehicles selected for the sample

s₁ = number of active stock (active vehicles (records in A1 dataset)  and non-working vehicles (due to sickness, repair, lack of work etc))

s₃ = number of non-responses (non-contacts, refusals, unknown users, sold vehicles, vehicles covered by banking secrecy, etc.)

During the weighting process we deal with:

1. Overcoverage
2. Non-respon

Basic weighting factor:

Assumption 1: The proportion of scrapped and other out-of-scope vehicles found on the survey is the same as on the register.

Assumption 2: All non-responses are assumed to be in-scope.

1. Overcoverage

Weighting factor considering overcoverage:

2. Non-response

Weighting factor considering non-response:

Finally:

Optional variables covered:

• Vehicle empty kilometres
• Type of cargo
• Vehicle operator’s NACE category of activity
• Axle configuration
• Degree of loading of the vehicle
• Possibility of using vehicles for combined transport

Additional (optional) variables collected compared to the legal requirements:

Environmental impact-related variables:

Type of fuel used and average fuel consumption.

A1. Vehicle-related variables:

• possibility of using vehicles for combined transport (YES)
• 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)

Other methodological changes introduced since the last publication of the ‘Methodologies used in surveys of road freight transport in Member States and Candidate Countries’ (Edition 2014)

Two additional variables were added to the survey:

• Class of air pollution emissions EURO
• Size of large containers

More information in Countries Specific Notes.

National level :

-          checking the questionnaires by the research team,

-          logical and computational control in the form registration application,

-          phone contact with units to verify and correct data.

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.

After various plausibility checks (among others on the basis of calculated final weights), the data received from respondents is compiled into data sets according to regulation 202/2010.

Road freight data are corrected by final weights (so-called calibration of results).

All data information current as on 26.06.2023