National statistics

Port freight annual statistics 2022: Cargo information

Published 19 July 2023

You can use our maritime interactive dashboard to explore port freight trends

Port freight trends by cargo type

Chart 5: UK major port tonnage by cargo group from 2012 to 2022 (PORT0201)

Table 1: UK major port tonnage by cargo group in 2022, with percentage changes from 2021 and 2019

Cargo Group	2022 tonnage (million tonnes)	% change from 2021	% change from 2019
Liquid Bulk	180.0	⬆ 11%	⬇  -6%
Ro-Ro	99.1	⬆ 4%	⬇  -5%
Dry Bulk	93.3	⬇ -3%	⬆ 1%
Lo-Lo	61.8	⬇ -3%	⬇  -7%
Other General Cargo	15.4	⬇  -16%	⬇  -9%

While tonnage increased 3% overall in 2022, the trend differs between cargo groups. Chart 5 shows liquid bulk, dry bulk, roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) and container (Lo-Lo) tonnage traffic from 2012 to 2022. Liquid bulk, which accounts for the most tonnage traffic of all cargo groups, has seen a downward trend since 2012, and a substantial increase in 2022 (up 11% on 2021). Ro-Ro tonnage increased by 4%, after a 3-year decline, driven mostly by an increase in unaccompanied freight traffic. Dry bulk saw the largest decline in 2022 of 3.2 million tonnes (3%) but remained slightly above 2019 levels. Container (Lo-Lo) traffic has been broadly stable and declined slightly (down 3%) in 2022.

Please explore our maritime interactive dashboard for further statistics on passenger and freight trends.

Liquid bulk

Definitions

Liquid bulk consists of any liquid or liquid gas that is transported in a tank.

Liquified natural gas (LNG) is natural gas which has been cooled to approximately -160°C, changing its state from gas to liquid. This enables transportation of gas by ship, as the volume is significantly reduced compared to the gaseous state.

Oil products are derivatives of petroleum, including diesel, gasoil, aviation fuel and gas condensate.

Liquid bulk accounted for 40% of all tonnage handled at UK major ports in 2022, continuing to account for the highest proportion of all the cargo groups. Chart 6 shows that the main liquid bulk types all increased in 2022 except for other liquid bulk, which saw a 4% decline. Liquified gas saw the largest absolute and relative increase in 2022 (59%) to the highest level since 2011. It is the only liquid bulk category that has exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Crude oil, the largest category, has seen an overall decline since 2010. Oil products remained at a similar level from 2012 until a sharp decline in 2020, followed by increases in 2021 and 2022.

Chart 6: Liquid bulk tonnage trends from 2010 to 2022 (PORT0201)

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

The increase in LNG in 2022 was driven mostly by imports, which were up 74% compared to LNG imports in 2021. According to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), in 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European demand for LNG surged as countries moved away from Russian gas so European imports rose substantially. The UK holds significant regasification infrastructure for converting LNG, back into a gas state. This meant the UK could import LNG, convert it into natural gas, then pipe it to other European countries with less or no regasification infrastructure. As LNG was mostly converted to gas and then piped to other European countries, exports of LNG by sea (which these statistics measure) remained similar to previous years.

For more detail on LNG go to DESNZ energy trends collection.

In 2022, almost half (49%) of the UK’s imports of LNG came from USA, followed by Qatar (26%). Qatar had previously been the largest LNG import source to the UK for the last 13 years, accounting for 40% of all LNG imports in 2021. DESNZ reported that new liquefaction capacity in the US has increased their export capacity, contributing to this shift.

Milford Haven handled the most liquified natural gas of all UK ports in 2022 (56%), consistent with previous years. Both Milford Haven and the second largest LNG port, Medway, saw a substantial increase in LNG of 8 million tonnes together, accounting for 97% of the increase in LNG in the UK in 2022.

For more detail on routes, go to the route information page.

Oil Products

Oil products increased 11% from 2021, where both directions increased a similar amount. Despite increases in 2021 and 2022, oil products were still 7% below pre-pandemic levels. DESNZ reported that this trend is driven by changing demand for transport fuels. The demand for jet fuel almost doubled in 2022, from 2021, due to the lifting of international travel restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic. For more detail on demand of fuels, go to DESNZ Energy Trends.

Milford Haven handled the most oil products of UK major ports (23%), followed by Grimsby and Immingham (17%). The largest absolute and percentage increase in oil products in 2022 was at London, up 34% compared to 2021.

Crude Oil

Although all crude oil handled increased, exports of crude oil reached an all time low in 2022, since collection started in 2000. According to DESNZ, indigenous production was at the lowest levels since records began and in line with this, exports reached record lows. This low production meant demand was met with imports, which increased 10% through UK ports compared to 2021. For more detail on demand and production of crude oils, go to DESNZ Energy Trends.

Russian crude oil imports dropped 58% in 2022, reflecting sanctions that were introduced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Of all crude oil imports in 2022, Russia accounted for 3% of these compared to 9% in 2021. The UK saw large increases in crude oil imports from USA and Canada. For more detail on routes, go to route information page.

You can use our maritime dashboard to explore trends in all liquid bulks over time, UK ports that handle liquid bulks such as oil and liquid natural gases, and route information.

Dry Bulk

Definitions:

Dry bulk is carried in the main cargo hold of bulk carrier vessels, for example coal, ores and scrap metal.

Other dry bulk consists of anything that does not fit into ores and scrap, coal or agricultural products but is carried in bulk on a bulk carrier vessel, including cement, aggregates, ash and wood pellets.

Biomass is a broad term covering all organic material including that from plants, trees (for example straw, crops or wood) and animals (for example, poultry litter). It is considered a renewable form of energy production as biomass growth removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it in the soil, plants or trees. Biomass is classified as other dry bulk in these statistics.

One-port traffic to and from offshore locations such as oil rigs and sea dredging.

Dry bulk declined overall by 3% from 2021, driven by decline in ores and other dry bulk (both had a 2.5 million tonne decline).

Chart 7: Dry bulk tonnage trends from 2012 to 2022 (PORT0201)

Chart 7 shows dry bulk categories, from 2012 to 2022. Other dry bulk remains the largest category and has been on an upward trend from 2012, with a small dip in 2020. Coal declined sharply between 2012 and 2016 and has remained the smallest category since 2019. Ores and agriculture products both have relatively stable trends with small fluctuations during this period.

Other Dry Bulk

Other dry bulk has declined 4% from last year to just below 2019 levels. Other dry bulk has been the largest dry bulk category since 2015, driven by changes in energy production in the UK away from coal and towards biomass (which is categorised under other). DESNZ Energy Trends reported a decline in electricity generated from plant biomass in 2022. HMRC Trade statistics note that the major source of biomass burnt in UK power stations are wood pellets. The supply of wood pellets in the UK has been affected by the suspension of wood pellets sourced or imported from Russia and Belarus, according to DESNZ (Renewable Heat Incentive). Imports of other dry bulk from Russia declined 0.6 million tonnes (68%) from 2021, but only accounts for 15% of the total UK’s decline. Belarus is landlocked but imports sourced from neighbouring country Latvia saw a decline of 0.5 million tonnes (31%) and accounted for 24% of the UK’s decline in other dry bulk.

Other dry bulk is not solely made up of biomass however, the UK saw the largest decline in other dry bulk from USA (down 0.7 million tonnes). This suggests that the invasion of Ukraine may not be the only explanation for a decline in other dry bulk seen in 2022.

Inwards domestic one-port traffic had a larger decline than any international country, down 0.9 million tonnes on last year and accounting for 46% of the UK’s decline in other dry bulk in 2022.

Coal

There was an increase in coal handled by UK ports, up 20% from 2021, driven by an increase in inwards movements of coal, which were up 25%.

Coal handled by UK ports dropped significantly from 2013 to 2016 and levels have remained low since then, reflecting the UK’s plan to phase out coal-fired powerplants by October 2024. In 2022, to ensure security of energy supply, 4 coal plants were available for use in winter 2022 that had been previously planned to be mothballed and electricity generators rebuilt stocks of coal in case they were needed (DESNZ Energy Trends).

The USA was the largest exporter of coal to the UK, accounting for 33% of all UK imports. This was followed by Australia and then very closely Russia. Imports of coal from Russia declined 48% in 2022, shifting to accounting for just 12% of all coal imports compared to 28% in 2021. This trend was likely a result of the UK banning Russian coal imports in August 2022 (DESNZ Energy Trends).

For more detail on routes, go to route information page.

Other General Cargo

Definitions

Forestry products including timber, paper and pulp when shipped as break bulk (cargoes that are carried in unitised form such as palletised, bagged, and crated).

There was an overall decline of 16% in other general cargo in 2022, where all categories decreased a similar amount. This decline was mostly driven by inwards traffic.

Forestry Products

Inwards movements of forestry products declined by 19% in 2022. Imports from Russia to the UK declined 88%, which contributed a fifth of the overall decline. However, over half the decline was from Sweden and Finland (the largest exporters of forestry products to the UK). A reduction in imports of paper could explain this, it was reported there had been a reduction in paper production in 2022, following strike action at Finnish paper mills from January to April 2022. The UK saw a 27% decline in imports of forestry products from Finland.

Containers (Lo-Lo)

Definitions:

Lift-on/Lift-of (Lo-Lo) consists of container traffic. TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) is a standardised measure to allow for the different sizes of container boxes.

Transhipment: these statistics collect the port of loading or unloading of the cargo, which may not be the port of ultimate origin or destination. For example, if a ship carrying cargo from Asia unloads/loads the cargo at a European port which is then put on another ship to the UK, our statistics will state the port of load as the European port, rather than the port in Asia.

Deep Sea: maritime traffic that crosses oceans. This consists of traffic to and from countries in Africa, America, Asia and Australasia. Mediterranean countries are classed under short sea in the port freight series.

Short Sea: maritime traffic that moves cargo along a coast without having to cross an ocean. This consists of traffic to and from the European Union (EU) and ‘Other Europe and Mediterranean’ (Extra-EU) countries.

Container (Lo-Lo) traffic is measured in both tonnes and units, where 1 unit is 1 container, and tonnage measures the weight of the cargo being carried, excluding the weight of the container itself, so an empty container has a weight of 0.

Overall container tonnage decreased from 2021 by 3% to 61.8 million tonnes, driven by inwards traffic. Unitised container traffic fell by 7% in 2022. Demand for goods increased during the COVID-19 pandemic increasing the movement of containers globally in 2021, the reduction in 2022 reflects a decline from this heightened demand and likely a further reduction due to the rising cost of goods.

Felixstowe was the largest container port in 2022, handling 18.3 million tonnes, followed by London handling 17.8 million tonnes. Traffic at these 2 ports increased (by 4% and 5% respectively), despite overall UK container traffic declining. Liverpool saw the largest absolute decline in container tonnage traffic, down 24% compared to 2021, which was mostly driven by inwards traffic.

Charts 8 and 9: International deep and long sea container tonnage and unitised traffic from 2016 to 2022 (PORT0499)

Charts 8 and 9 show short sea and deep sea trends from 2016, by direction. Short sea tonnage imports and deep sea imports are at similar levels but opposing trends. Deep sea tonnage exports have been declining from 2018 and both deep sea and short sea tonnage exports traffic are now at similar levels.

Towards the end of 2020 and throughout 2021, there were worldwide congestion and capacity issues at container ports and shipping fleets created by unprecedented demand for goods in a COVID-19 affected operating environment. Congestion reduced the operational effectiveness of ports and reliability of vessel schedules. This had a number of effects such as vessels staying at berth for longer and an increase in waiting time at anchor (according to port congestion and waiting time information from Sea/ by Maritech.

This led to a decline in deep sea traffic and an increase in short sea traffic in 2021, which could suggest that some vessels missed their UK port calls and discharged containers destined for the UK at a European port, which were then transhipped on another vessel to the UK (transhipment is explained in the definitions at the top of this section).

These trends reversed in 2022 where short sea traffic declined by 2.1 million tonnes, and deep sea traffic increased 1.2 million tonnes which likely reflects a return to pre-pandemic patterns. The increase seen in deep sea tonnage is lower than the decrease seen in short sea tonnage, an overall reduction in traffic which could be related to the rising cost of goods.

Following an increase in the export of empty containers in 2021, a result of the sector attempting to rebalance the build up of empty containers which had arisen from changes to loading and unloading patterns, exports of empty containers declined 17% in 2022. This is now below pre-pandemic levels, again suggesting a shift back to pre-pandemic demand.

Ro-Ro

Definitions

Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) is cargo that can be moved on to, or off, a vessel either by their own propulsion (such as a passenger car) or with assistance (such as an unaccompanied trailer). For detailed information see the cargo category flowchart.

Landbridge is a term commonly used to describe the route that connects the Island of Ireland to the rest of the EU via mainland Britain’s road and ports network.

Accompanied or self propelled are road goods vehicles carrying freight accompanied by the driver on the sea crossing.

Unaccompanied or non-self propelled are road goods vehicles without the accompanied cab, rolled on and off the vessel by port operations and collected by a new driver at the destination port.

Roll-on, roll-off traffic is measured in both tonnes and units, where 1 unit is 1 vehicle or trailer, and tonnage measures the weight of the cargo being carried, excluding the weight of the vehicle itself, so an empty unit has a weight of 0.

Overall, Ro-Ro tonnage increased by 4% in 2022, but remained 5% below pre-pandemic levels. Accompanied roads goods vehicles accounted for the majority of the total Ro-Ro decline between 2019 and 2022 tonnage levels.

Unitised traffic increased 19% in 2022, following little change in 2021. This was driven by passenger vehicles, with all UK restrictions on international passenger travel removed in 2022. Overall Ro-Ro units are still 17% below pre-pandemic levels.

Chart 10: Roll-on, Roll-off (Ro-Ro) unitised traffic from 2000 to 2022 (PORT0201)

Chart 10 shows the trends of unitised Ro-Ro traffic from 2000. Passenger vehicles was the largest category for Ro-Ro units, which had been steadily declining until 2020, where numbers declined sharply. The number of roads goods vehicles have been declining steadily since 2017 and unaccompanied roads goods vehicles have increased in the last 2 years, overtaking accompanied roads good vehicles in 2021. Import and export vehicle units had been on a downward trend from 2016 but saw a slight increase in 2022.

Chart 11: Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) unitised traffic handled at UK ports in 2022 (PORT0201)

Chart 11 shows that passenger vehicles accounted for the largest proportion of unitised Ro-Ro traffic in 2022.  The second largest group was unaccompanied roads vehicles, followed very closely by accompanied road goods vehicles.

Accompanied and Unaccompanied Roads Goods Vehicles

Chart 12: Roll-on, Roll-off (Ro-Ro) tonnage traffic from 2000 to 2022 (PORT0201)

Chart 12 shows Ro-Ro tonnage trends from 2000 to 2022. Unaccompanied roads goods vehicles have been steadily increasing from 2009, whereas accompanied roads goods vehicles declined in the last few years. In 2022, tonnage carried in accompanied roads goods vehicles through UK ports remained similar to 2021. Unaccompanied roads good vehicles tonnage increased 5% in 2022 to 11% above 2019, driven mostly by inwards traffic.

Accompanied roads goods vehicles are now 8.1 million tonnes below 2019, but this is not entirely compensated by the increase in unaccompanied (4.9 million above 2019). This is also reflected in unitised figures where the increase in unaccompanied (0.3 million above 2019) does not make up for the decline in accompanied (down 0.8 million units on 2019). Similarly to the previous year, this suggests a shift from accompanied to unaccompanied traffic but does not completely explain the decline in accompanied Ro-Ro.

Although overall, roads good vehicles remained similar to 2021 levels (up 1%), there was a 1.5 million tonne decline at Dover (down 8%). As mentioned in the 2021 release, decline at Dover could be related to a decline in demand for the UK landbridge as a route to and from the European Union (EU) following the UK’s exit from the EU.

Liverpool accounted for the largest absolute increase in unaccompanied roads goods vehicles traffic (58% of the UK’s increase in unaccompanied), followed by Grimsby and Immingham.

Import and Export Vehicles

Since 2016 both imports and exports of motor vehicles have declined each year. In 2022 exports continued this downward trend (down 16%), however, import units increased 11%. UK car production declined 10% in 2022, reported by Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which is likely to have contributed to the increase in imported vehicles to the UK. Germany, followed by Belgium remained the largest exporters of motor vehicles to the UK. The largest absolute increases in imports came from the Netherlands, followed by China. Of all UK ports, Bristol saw the largest absolute increase in motor vehicle imports, up 29% on the previous year. Bristol was the second largest port for import vehicles, just behind Grimsby and Immingham as the largest.

For more detail on routes, go to route information page

Background Information

The tables give further detail of the key results presented in this statistical release. They are available from port and domestic waterborne freight statistics.

These notes provide further information such as definitions and a list of UK ports is available in the accompanying table index. The background quality report provides further information on how the data is collected, quality assured and comparisons with relevant data sources.

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