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Archive:Freight transport statistics

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Data from September 2010, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

The ability to move goods safely, quickly and cost-efficiently to market is important for international trade, national distributive trades, and economic development. This article presents information on the European Union’s (EU’s) freight transport sector, which includes the following transport modes: road, rail, air, maritime and inland waterways.

The rapid increase in global trade up to the onset of the financial and economic crisis and the deepening integration of the enlarged EU, alongside a range of economic practices (including the concentration of production in fewer sites to reap economies of scale, delocalisation, and just-in-time deliveries), may explain the relatively fast growth of freight transport within the EU. In contrast, strains on transport infrastructure (congestion and delays), coupled with constraints over technical standards, interoperability and governance issues may slow down developments within the freight transport sector.

Main statistical findings

Table 1: Modal split of inland freight transport (1)
(% of total inland tonne-km)
Table 2: Volume of inland freight transport (1)
(index of inland freight transport volume relative to GDP, 2000=100)
Table 3: Inland freight transport, 2009
Figure 1: National and international road transport of goods, 2009 (1)
(% based on million t-km of laden transport)
Figure 2: Air freight transport, 2009 (1)
(1 000 tonnes)
Figure 3: Gross weight of seaborne goods handled in ports, 2008 (1)
(million tonnes)


Total inland freight transport in the EU-27 was estimated to be close to 2 400 000 million tonne-kilometres (t-km) in 2008. A little over three quarters (76.4 %) of the inland freight transported in the EU-27 was accounted for by roads in 2008 (see Table 1). The relative importance of road freight transport, as a share of total inland freight transport, rose by 2.7 percentage points between 2000 and 2008. The volume of inland freight transported by road was a little over four times as high as the volume transported by rail (17.8 % of inland freight transported in the EU-27 in 2008), while the remainder (5.9 %) of the freight transported in the EU-27 was carried along inland waterways. It should be noted that this analysis refers only to inland freight transport and that considerable volumes of freight may be transported by maritime freight services and for some product groups by air transport or by pipelines.

The relative ascendancy of road freight transport was common in most of the Member States, with the exception of the Baltic States, Austria and Sweden, where at least one third of the inland freight transported took place on the railways in 2008; in Latvia and Lithuania, a majority of inland freight was transported by rail (61.3 % and 58.0 % respectively). Between 10 % and 16 % of total inland freight was transported on the inland waterways of Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany and Romania in 2008; this share rose to over one third (34.7 %) of the total in the Netherlands.

The volume of EU-27 inland freight transport grew at a faster pace than constant price GDP during the period from 2000 to 2008 (overall 4.0 % higher) – see Table 2. Slovenia and Romania recorded the fastest growth in inland freight transport relative to GDP growth (50 % higher), while the volume of inland freight transport grew by at least 20 % more than GDP in Portugal, Hungary, Spain, Poland and Bulgaria. In contrast, there was lower freight transport growth than GDP growth in Estonia, Belgium and Denmark, as GDP grew at least 25 % faster.

Table 3 shows that Estonia and Latvia were the only Member States where a greater volume of freight was transported by rail than by road in 2008, while Belgium, Bulgaria and the Netherlands were the only Member State where a greater volume of freight was transported by inland waterways than by rail; the volume of rail and inland waterways freight was identical in Luxembourg.

Road freight

Relative to the size of their respective populations, the greatest volume of road freight transport was reported for Luxembourg, over 17 000 tonne-kilometres per inhabitant, almost two and a half times the next highest volume in Slovenia; in both cases, the vast majority of this road freight transportation was international, performed by vehicles registered in each of these Member States. Indeed, it is important to note that road freight statistics are generally based on movements in the registration country or abroad, of vehicles registered in the reporting country (’nationality principle’).

Slightly more than two thirds of the goods transported on the EU-27’s roads in 2009 related to the transportation of goods on national road networks (see Figure 1). However, this proportion varied considerably between the Member States: with the highest proportion of national road freight transport in the islands of Cyprus (98.1 %) and the United Kingdom (93.6 % in 2007), while the relative importance of national freight was much lower in Slovakia (19.9 %), Slovenia (15.4 %), Lithuania (14.8 %) and Luxembourg (6.3 %). For most freight hauliers registered in the EU, international road freight transport mostly relates to exchanges with other EU Member States (intra-EU partners).

Air freight

About 12.3 million tonnes of air freight (both national and international) was carried through airports within the EU-27 in 2009 (see Figure 2). Airports in Germany dealt with 3.3 million tonnes of air freight, considerably more than in any other Member State – the United Kingdom had the second highest amount of air freight at 2.2 million tonnes. Some of the smaller Member States are relatively specialised in air freight, notably all of the Benelux countries, and in particular, Luxembourg (which ranked as the seventh largest air freight transporter among the Member States).

Maritime freight

Maritime ports in the EU-27 handled 3 919 million tonnes of seaborne goods in 2008, which marked a modest reduction of 0.4 % when compared with 2007. Sea ports in the United Kingdom handled 562 million tonnes of goods in 2008, more than any other Member State and equivalent to 14.3 % of the EU-27 total. Among the smaller Member States, the quantity of goods handled in maritime ports of the Netherlands, Belgium and the Nordic countries was particularly high (see Figure 3).

Data sources and availability

The development of freight transport statistics is based upon a raft of framework legislation and implementing legislation, generally broken down according to the mode of transport under consideration.

Information on inland freight transport is available with an annual frequency and the time series generally begin in the early 1990s. The majority of inland freight transport statistics are based on movements in each reporting country, regardless of the nationality of the vehicle or vessel involved (the ’territoriality principle’). For this reason, the volume measure of tonne-kilometres is generally considered as a more reliable measure, as the use of tonnes entails a higher risk of double-counting, particularly for international transport. The methodology used across the Member States is not completely harmonised, for example, road freight statistics are generally based on all movements (in the registration country or abroad) of vehicles registered in the reporting country (the ’nationality principle’). Therefore, the statistics presented, especially those for the smallest reporting countries, may be somewhat unrepresentative.

The modal split of inland freight transport is based on transportation by road, rail and inland waterways, and therefore excludes air, maritime and pipeline transport. It measures the share of each transport mode in total inland freight transport and is based on the volume of goods transported in tonne-kilometres, in other words, one tonne of goods travelling a distance of one kilometre.

The volume of inland freight transport may also be expressed in relation to GDP (in constant prices for the reference year 2000). This indicator provides information on the relationship between the demand for freight transport and economic growth, with the series indexed on 2000 = 100, so that the annual intensity of freight transport demand can be monitored relative to economic developments.

Goods loaded are those goods placed on a road vehicle, a railway vehicle or a merchant ship for dispatch by road, rail or sea. The weight of goods transported by rail and inland waterways is the gross-gross weight. This includes the total weight of the goods, all packaging, and the tare-weight of the container, swap-body and pallets containing goods; in the case of rail freight transport, it also includes road goods vehicles that are carried by rail. In contrast, the weight measured for maritime and road freight transport is the gross weight (in other words, excluding the tare-weight).

Road freight

Road freight transport statistics are collected under the framework provided by Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/98 on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods by road, amended by Regulation (EC) No 399/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council which details implementing powers conferred on the European Commission. The data are based on sample surveys carried out in the reporting countries and record the transport of goods by road, as undertaken by vehicles registered in each of the Member States. It is important to note that almost all of the Member States apply a cut-off point for carrying capacity under which vehicles are not surveyed; this should not be greater than 3.5 tonnes carrying capacity, or 6 tonnes in terms of gross vehicle weight; some of the Member States also apply a limit on the age of the vehicles surveyed.

Rail freight

Rail freight data are collected under the framework provided by Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on rail transport statistics. The data are collected for a quarterly frequency (usually limited to larger enterprises) and for an annual frequency (which covers enterprises of all sizes). Rail freight data are not available for Malta and Cyprus (or Iceland) as they do not have a railway infrastructure. Rail statistics are also collected every five years in relation to a regional breakdown (NUTS 2 level).

Aside from the mandatory collection of data based on legal acts, Eurostat also collects rail transport statistics through a voluntary data collection exercise. The questionnaire used for this exercise provides information in relation to railway transport infrastructures, equipment, enterprises, traffic and train movements.

Maritime freight

The legal framework for the collection of statistics on maritime freight transport is Directive 2009/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on statistical returns in respect of carriage of goods and passengers by sea (Recast). Maritime transport data are available for most of the period from 2001 onwards, although some Member States have provided data since 1997. Maritime freight statistics are not transmitted to Eurostat by the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia as they have no maritime ports.

Inland waterways freight

The legal framework for the collection of statistics on inland waterway freight transport is Regulation (EC) No 1365/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on statistics of goods transport by inland waterways. Data on inland waterways are only required for those Member States with an annual quantity of goods transported that exceeds a million tonnes, namely Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom, and Croatia also provides data. Data collection is based on an exhaustive survey of all inland waterway undertakings for all goods that are loaded or unloaded. In the case of transit, some countries make use of sampling methods in order to estimate the quantity of goods.

Air freight

The legal framework for air transport statistics is provided by Regulation (EC) No 437/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of passengers, freight and mail by air. Air freight statistics are collected for freight and mail loaded and unloaded in relation to commercial air flights. The information is broken down to cover national and international freight transport, with the latter being split between intra-EU and extra-EU partners.

Air transport statistics are collected at the airport level by the EU Member States, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and the candidate countries. Annual data are available for most of the EU Member States for the period from 2003 onwards, while some countries have provided data back to 1993. The statistics that are collected are also available for a monthly and a quarterly frequency. Air freight statistics are also collected for a regional breakdown (NUTS 2 level).

More detailed definitions of the statistical terms used within transport statistics are available in the ’Illustrated glossary for transport statistics, 4th edition, 2010’.

Context

One of the main challenges identified by the 2001 White Paper, titled ‘European transport policy for 2010: time to decide’ (COM(2001) 370 final) was to address the imbalance in the development of different transport modes. Specific actions looking to boost rail and maritime connections were foreseen, including the establishment of the Marco Polo programme which aims to free Europe’s roads through the promotion of alternative forms of freight transport that may be greener, cleaner and (in the long-run) cheaper. Part of the Marco Polo programme concentrates on making better use of existing infrastructures, by encouraging the integration of short-sea shipping, rail transport and inland waterways into the logistics chain, through the recognition that each transport mode has its own advantages either in terms of potential capacity, levels of safety, flexibility, energy consumption, or environmental impact.

A mid-term review of the White Paper, titled ’Keep Europe moving – sustainable mobility for our continent’ (COM(2006) 314 final) made a number of suggestions for new policy developments, which have been subsequently expanded upon in the form of a series of European Commission Communications and internal working documents, these include:

  • The EU's freight transport agenda: boosting the efficiency, integration and sustainability of freight transport in Europe (COM(2007) 606 final), which proposed a series of measures to: promote freight transport logistics; make rail freight more competitive; create a framework to allow European ports to attract investment for their modernisation; put maritime freight transport on an equal footing with other transport modes, and; review progress made in developing so-called ‘motorways of the sea’.
  • A freight transport logistics action plan (COM(2007) 607 final), which covered, among others, e-freight and intelligent transport systems, the promotion of interoperability across transport modes, single transport documents, and the removal of regulatory obstacles.
  • A move towards a rail network giving priority to freight COM(2007) 608 final), which proposed improvements to the infrastructure of existing freight corridors, measures to improve service quality, the introduction of harmonised rules for the allocation of train paths, and the improvement of terminal and marshalling yard capacities.
  • A European ports policy (COM(2007) 616 final) including proposals for modernisation with respect to the simplification of procedures for short-sea shipping, an e-maritime approach to administration and improved port equipment, and the expansion of capacity whilst respecting the environment.
  • A document reporting on the motorways of the sea (SEC(2007) 1367) which discussed the progress made in relation to trans-European networks and the Marco Polo programme, as well as opportunities to reduce bureaucracy, improve promotion and marketing, ensure the availability of suitable vessels, provide adequate training, ensure the availability of connections, and establish integrated information systems.
  • A ‘Greening transport’ package (COM(2008) 433 final) which included a three-pronged strategy that sought to: ensure that the price of transport better reflects its real cost to society in terms of environmental damage and congestion; develop more efficient and greener road tolls for lorries, and; reduce noise pollution from rail freight.
  • A set of strategic goals and recommendations for the EU’s maritime transport policy until 2018 (COM(2009) 8 final) presented the main strategic objectives for the EU’s maritime transport system, including the ability of the maritime transport sector to provide cost-efficient maritime transport services adapted to the needs of sustainable economic growth, and the long-term competitiveness of the EU’s shipping sector.
  • A European maritime transport space without barriers (COM(2009) 10 final) which presented ideas designed to help boost short-sea services, through a reduction in administrative formalities, in particular the removal of customs formalities that do not apply to similar road transport services.


Further Eurostat information

Publications

Main tables

Transport, volume and modal split (t_tran_hv)
Railway transport (t_rail)
Road transport (t_road)
Inland waterways (t_iww)
Maritime transport (t_mar)
Air transport (t_avia)

Database

Regional transport statistics (tran_r)
Transport, volume and modal split (tran_hv)
Railway transport (rail)
Road transport (road)
Inland waterways transport (iww)
Oil pipeline transport (pipe)
Maritime transport (mar)
Air transport (avia)

Dedicated section

Methodology/Metadata

Other information

Source data for tables and graphs (MS Excel)

External links

See also

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