National statistics

Port freight annual statistics 2022: Domestic information and domestic waterborne freight

Published 19 July 2023

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

Domestic Routes

Definitions

Coastwise: traffic carried around the coast from one UK port to another, including domestic ferry services. Figures are double-counted in the port freight data for this type of traffic. For example, data of a shipment from Liverpool to Belfast is collected from both Liverpool’s and Belfast’s perspectives (one being an inward, the other record being an outward voyage).

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

Trends in tonnage traffic

Tonnage carried on domestic routes continues to account for around 20% of all traffic handled by UK major ports, totalling 94.4 million tonnes in 2022. This proportion has been similar since 2012. Domestic tonnage increased by 1% compared to 2021, with coastwise traffic making up 82% of domestic tonnage in 2022. Chart 15 is a line chart showing the trend in domestic traffic by coastwise and one-port over time. From 2005 to 2017, coastwise traffic broadly declined, mainly because of a fall in liquid bulk traffic, but from 2017 to 2022, the trend has remained relatively level (PORT0706). One-port traffic levels are lower and have broadly declined over time.

Chart 15: Domestic traffic by type from 2000 to 2022 (PORT0499)

Domestic container traffic saw a decrease of 29% between 2021 and 2022, continuing a long-term trend which has seen it fall 61% since the peak in 2015. This contrasts with the relatively flat trend seen in international container traffic during the same period. The drop in the latest year is not driven by a single port, with the top 10 ports which handled the most domestic container traffic in 2021 all seeing decreases in 2022.

Liquid bulk saw the greatest relative increase of 7% from 2021 in terms of tonnage handled, and all categories of liquid bulk increased. Roll on, roll off (Ro-Ro) traffic also saw an increase of 6%, to its highest level since the series began in 2000, driven mainly by a 19% increase in road goods vehicles and trailers.

For more detail on trends by cargo type, go to the cargo information page.

In 2022, Belfast remained the UK port that handles the most domestic traffic (12.1 million tonnes). This is shown in Chart 16, a stacked bar chart of the 10 ports handling the most domestic traffic split by one-port and coastwise. London was the second largest, and handled the most one-port traffic.

Chart 16: Top 10 UK major ports by domestic tonnage in 2022 (PORT0499)

Coastwise

In 2022, 77.1 million tonnes of domestic traffic was coastwise, an increase of 3% compared with 2021. The increase of 2.4 million tonnes in 2022 was largely driven by a 9% increase in liquid bulk. The increase in liquid bulk brings tonnage above 2019 levels and mirrors increased demand for crude oil and oil products after a dip in 2020 DESNZ energy trends. There was also a 19% increase in Ro-Ro self-propelled traffic, with Larne and Cairnryan seeing the largest increases in this cargo group. This is likely to be related to changes in behaviour on routes between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland following the UK’s exit from the European Union, discussed in further detail below under unitised traffic.

One-Port

One-port tonnage decreased 8% in 2022 to 17.3 million tonnes. One-port tonnage consists of traffic to and from offshore locations including sea dredging and oil rigs. Crude oil one-port tonnage has declined considerably since 2000; the reduction in North Sea oil and gas production is likely to have been a contributory factor. One-port crude oil tonnage again fell by 42% in 2022 compared to 2021. The decline in one-port tonnage in 2022 was also driven by a decrease of over a million tonnes in other dry bulk from dredging. The largest fall was at London where other dry bulk fell by 9%.

Trends in unitised traffic

Domestic unitised traffic increased by 3% in 2022 compared with 2021. Self-propelled Ro-Ro traffic increased by 9% to 2.3 million units, driven by a 17% increase in passenger vehicles. Lo-Lo units, however, decreased by 22% to the lowest level since 2000, reflecting the tonnage trend for Lo-Lo traffic.

Main freight unitised traffic, which consists of all Lo-Lo and Ro-Ro units which can carry freight, decreased by 5% in 2022, decreasing by 124,000 units. In the same year, main freight traffic to the Republic of Ireland increased by 44,000 units. According to the Irish Maritime Development Office, Ro-Ro services at Republic of Ireland ports had historically been utilised by many Northern Irish hauliers wishing to access markets in the midlands and southeast of England. From early 2021, haulage companies based in Northern Ireland had transferred some traffic away from Ro-Ro services in Republic of Ireland to avoid the new customs requirements involved between Ireland and UK ports. Whilst this shift has slightly reversed in 2022, the fall in traffic to the Republic of Ireland since 2020 is still substantial. This trend of units on domestic coastwise routes and routes with the Republic of Ireland is displayed in Chart 17.

Chart 17: Units handled on Irish republic and domestic coastwise routes, 2000 to 2022 (PORT0499)

Domestic Waterborne Freight

About domestic waterborne freight

Domestic waterborne freight covers freight moved by water in the UK and includes traffic on inland waterways in addition to coastwise and one-port traffic. These are based on analysis of the port freight statistics and inland waterway movements collected from barge operators and minor ports. In contrast to the domestic figures above, coastwise traffic between 2 ports is only counted in 1 direction, and international traffic which travels on inland waters is included. Figures in this section are not directly comparable to the rest of port freight statistics.

For further information regarding the figures in this section, see the domestic waterborne freight technical note. Data tables for domestic waterborne freight can be found in the PORT07 section.

Definitions

Inland waterways traffic is movement of freight on a ship or barge along one of British inland waterways, such as rivers or canals. Where coastwise or one-port traffic is handled by a port classified as being on inland waters (for example, on a river) this is also included in the inland waters within this section.

Goods moved is a metric used for freight traffic. It is the tonnage of goods lifted multiplied by the distance travelled, expressed as tonne-kilometres. For foreign traffic, distance is counted to the smooth water boundary only.

Water transport accounts for a relatively small share of domestic goods moved across all modes (where road dominates), around 14% of goods moved and 6% of goods lifted, based on data for 2020 published in Transport Statistics Great Britain (TSGB0401).

The total amount of goods lifted by water within the UK increased by 1% to 93.9 million tonnes in 2022. Goods moved traffic increased by 4%, to 25.0 billion tonne-kilometres (bt-k). This increase was largely driven by a 10% rise in coastwise goods moved traffic, from 2021. Southampton and Liverpool accounted for 66% of the increase in coastwise goods moved traffic, with a combined increase in coastwise goods moved of 1.9 bt-k.

Chart 18: Domestic waterborne freight goods lifted from 2001 to 2022 (PORT0701)

Chart 19: Domestic waterborne freight goods moved from 2001 to 2022 (PORT0701)

Chart Note: Coastwise and one-port traffic which travels on inland waterways is counted twice in the above figures (so total goods lifted is less than the sum of the 3 individual categories).

Chart 20 is a bar chart of goods moved in 2022 by cargo type. In terms of goods moved, liquid bulk traffic remains the most transported cargo type along domestic waterborne routes (47%) in 2022, followed by dry bulk (33%), consistent with last year. Despite the declining trend in liquid bulk since 2000 associated with the decline in North Sea oil, the majority of the liquid bulk cargo continues to come from crude oil and oil products. Unitised traffic (Ro-Ro and Lo-Lo) accounted for 13% of all tonne-kilometres, decreasing 1 percentage point from last year.

Chart 20: Domestic waterborne freight goods moved by cargo type, 2022 (PORT0702)

Inland waters traffic overall accounts for 6% of domestic waterborne freight traffic measured by goods moved. This traffic can be carried by barges or seagoing vessels on inland waterways. Chart 21 is a map of the navigable waterways alongside tonnage moved. The Thames handled the most domestic traffic in the UK, accounting for over half (59%) of all goods moved by inland waterway in 2022 (PORT0705). In terms of goods lifted, the River Thames handled 24.0 million tonnes of freight, 52% of all total traffic on UK waterways (PORT0704), and 3% more than in 2021.

Chart 21: Map of domestic waterborne freight goods moved by waterway, 2022

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.

The port freight statistics are National Statistics. This means they are produced to high professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure they meet customer needs. These statistics were designated as National Statistics in February 2013. The continued designation was confirmed in December 2018. The arrivals statistics included in this release are not National Statistics.

Details of Ministers and officials who receive pre-release access to these statistics up to 24 hours before release can be found on the pre-release access list.

Related data sources

His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publishes data on tonnage and value to a much more granular commodity level for goods traded internationally. Comparisons between port freight and this source, specifically for certain cargo categories, are explored further in our notes and definitions.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (formerly Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) publish the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) which covers the production and consumption of fuels and energy in the UK.

Information on freight moved by different modes, including a breakdown of domestic freight is available in Transport Statistics Great Britain.

Eurostat publish comparative port freight data for European Union countries, which can be used to compare UK ports to those in EU countries.

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