National statistics

Port freight quarterly statistics: October to December 2023

Published 6 March 2024

About this release

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Definitions can be revealed by hovering over words and can be found in the definitions section at the end of this release.

Overview of Quarterly Port Freight Statistics

When comparing October to December 2023 with October to December 2022 through UK major ports:

• total freight tonnage decreased by 7% to 102.6 million tonnes
• inward tonnage decreased by 5% to 68.4 million tonnes
• outward tonnage decreased by 12% to 34.1 million tonnes
• total volume of unitised traffic decreased by 3% to 4.6 million units
• inward units decreased by 3% to 2.5 million units
• outward units decreased by 4% to 2.2 million units

When comparing the rolling year to December 2023 with December 2022 through UK major ports:

• total tonnage decreased by 5% to 426.3 million tonnes
• total volume of unitised traffic increased by 1% to 20.5 million units

Detailed final annual statistics for 2023 will be published in summer 2024.

This publication includes both accredited official statistics and official statistics in development. For more information, see the about these statistics section.

Chart 1: Quarterly port freight tonnage and units from 2019 (PORT0502)

Note, the 2021 series has been removed from these charts to make them easier to read.

Chart 1 shows that in Q4 (October to December) 2023, the gap to the equivalent quarter in 2019 for tonnage traffic has risen to 15%, the biggest this year. There is some evidence that tonnage is not likely to reach 2019 levels, following the United Kingdoms (UK) exit from the European Union (EU), with the OBR Brexit analysis assuming that UK-EU trade will be around 15% lower in the long run than if the UK had remained in the EU. The OBR’s latest evidence on the impact of Brexit on UK trade, published in March 2022, also finds that the UK appears to have become a less trade intensive economy, with trade as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) falling 12% since 2019, the largest fall of any G7 country.

Chart 1 also shows that unitised port freight traffic, including passenger vehicles, has followed the seasonal pattern, and decreased by 23% following the summer peak in Q3 (July to September) The gap to the equivalent quarter in 2019 has increased slightly since last quarter (to 16% below Q4 2019), and unitised traffic for Q4 2023 is now the lowest Q4 since the consistent series began in 2000 (at 4.6 million units). Seasonal unitised traffic trends largely reflect fluctuations in sea passenger volumes. Sea passenger statistics are available in the sea passenger data collection.

Port Freight trends by cargo type estimates

Method and coverage

We are trialing publishing estimates of cargo groups alongside the quarterly port freight statistics in PORT0503. The estimates are based on total tonnage and units provided by the port which are validated to a high standard and published as provisional accredited official statistics in PORT0502. These totals are then split by cargo group based on data provided by shipping agents. If no shipping agent data is received for a port, then no estimates can be created. Where large amounts of data from a shipping agent is missing in the current quarter, a value has been imputed from the equivalent quarter in the previous year to allow for more accurate national trend analysis. This method is still under development and any feedback from users is welcome by emailing the department’s Maritime Statistics team.

The agents and ports data might not always match due to missing agent data, or differences in how ports and agents categorise a certain shipment. During the annual validations process the department carries out extensive matching between these 2 data sources and queries the data providers to finalise the annual dataset. During quarterly validations, only high-level matching is conducted. Therefore, PORT0502 should always be used for accurate trend analysis.

As with all the quarterly figures, these estimates are provisional until finalised with the annual publication in the following calendar year, for example 2023 estimates will be finalised in summer 2024.

Chart 2: UK port freight tonnage traffic by cargo group since 2019 (PORT0503)

Chart 2 shows UK quarterly major port tonnage from Q1 (January to March) 2019 to Q4 2023 with different lines for the different cargo group estimates. The relative levels of different cargo groups are generally stable over this period though Ro-Ro Freight and Dry Bulk frequently change places as the second largest group behind Liquid Bulk. This quarter Ro-Ro Freight was the second largest.

Liquid bulk and dry bulk are the main drivers of the UK’s overall decrease in tonnage traffic seen this quarter compared to Q4 2022, accounting for 57% and 43% of the total decline.

Liquid Bulk

Chart 2 shows that liquid bulk tonnage through UK major ports has decreased by 11% to 41.6 million tonnes when comparing Q4 2023 with Q4 2022. However, liquid bulk tonnage has increased when comparing Q4 2023 with Q3 2023, following the seasonal trend reflecting UK demand for energy during the winter months.

Chart 3 shows that Medway saw a 2.2 million tonne decrease (-79%) in liquid bulk tonnage from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023. Milford Haven and the Port of Liverpool also saw a significant drop in liquid bulk tonnage, falling by 1.7 million tonnes (-63%) and 1 million tonnes (-34%) respectively. Last quarter, one port cited economic factors and a downturn in North Sea crude oil production as the reason for the national decrease in liquid bulk tonnage traffic. This quarter, higher energy and other prices are likely to have impacted UK demand for liquid bulk.

The figures in this chart are timelier estimates, for high quality trend analysis of cargo groups, please use our 2022 port freight annual statistics. 

Chart 3: The top 3 UK ports with the largest overall decreases in tonnage handled from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023, segmented by cargo group (PORT0503)

Note, some ports do not handle all of the cargo groups in the key. Cargo groups that are not handled at the port will not appear.

Dry Bulk

When comparing Q4 2023 with Q4 2022, dry bulk tonnage decreased by 17% to 18.5 million tonnes. Grimsby and Immingham saw the greatest decline in dry bulk of all UK ports, down 1.2 million tonnes (-32%), followed by London, down 0.7 million tonnes (-20%).

As shown in Chart 3, Liverpool was one of the top 3 ports with the greatest decline in tonnage overall, with dry bulk declining by 0.6 million tonnes (-33%) in Q4 2023 compared to the equivalent quarter in 2022.

Containers 

Container tonnage in Q4 2023 has showed little change at 14.8 million tonnes, a decline of less than 1% compared to the same quarter in 2022.

Container unitised traffic saw a 2% increase when compared with Q4 2022.

Ro-Ro

Chart 4: The top 3 UK ports with the largest overall increases in tonnage handled from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023, segmented by cargo group (PORT0503)

Note, some ports do not handle all of the cargo groups in the key. Cargo groups that are not handled at the port will not appear.

Ro-Ro Freight

Chart 4 shows how different cargo group estimates have changed since Q4 2022 at Dover, Forth and Port Talbot. 

When comparing Q4 2023 with Q4 2022, Ro-Ro freight tonnage has showed little change to 22.7 million tonnes. However there have been changes at individual ports. Dover saw a 0.4 million tonne increase (9%) in Ro-Ro freight tonnage during this period, as shown in Chart 4, the largest increase in Ro-Ro freight of any major UK port, rising to 4.7 million tonnes. 

This was followed closely by London who also saw a 0.3 million tonne increase, 21% up from Q4 2022. Grimsby and Immingham saw a 0.3 million tonne decrease (-9% from Q4 2022) in Ro-Ro freight tonnage during this period.

When measured in units, Ro-Ro freight  saw a 6% decrease when compared with Q4 2022. This was mostly driven by a decrease of 120,000 Ro-Ro freight units at Grimsby and Immingham, as shown in Chart 5, accounting for the majority of the decline across all ports.

Chart 5: The top 3 UK ports with the largest overall decreases in units handled from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023, segmented by cargo group (PORT0503)

Note, some ports do not handle all of the cargo groups in the key. Cargo groups that are not handled at the port will not appear.

Ro-Ro Non Freight

Chart 5 shows that Grimsby and Immingham and Southampton each saw substantial decreases in Ro-Ro Non-Freight units since Q4 2022.

Comparing Q4 2023 to Q4 2022, Ro-Ro Non-Freight units decreased by 5% to 1.5 million units. Southampton saw an 88,000 unit decrease (-56%) in Ro-Ro non-freight units during this period, the largest decrease of any major UK port, falling to 71,000 units.

Since Q3 2023, Ro-Ro Non-Freight unitised traffic, in Q4 2023, saw a decline of 42% which can be attributed to seasonal variation as shown in Chart 6.

Chart 6  shows UK quarterly major port units from Q1 (January to March) 2019 to Q4  2023 with different lines for the different cargo group estimates. The relative levels of Ro-Ro Freight and Containers are generally stable over this period whilst Ro-Ro Non-Freight follows a seasonal trend. 

Chart 6: UK port freight unitised traffic by cargo group since 2019 (PORT0503)

Further information

Further information about these statistics is available, including:

• background information on quarterly port freight statistics
• notes and definitions for all port freight statistics

Please contact the department’s Maritime Forecasts team if you have any questions about DfT port freight forecasts.

Definitions

Unitised goods: Goods which are lifted on or off the vessel in large (20 foot or longer) shipping containers or rolled on or off in 1 of a variety of self-propelled or towed units are said to be unitised cargoes. For these cargo types, the number of units as well as the weight of goods is recorded. The exception is passenger cars, which don’t carry cargo and therefore we collect only the number of units.

Tonnage: Gross weight in tonnes, including crates and other packaging. The tare weights of containers, road goods vehicles, trailers and other items of transport equipment (the unloaded weight of the vehicle or equipment itself) are excluded.

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

Liquefied natural gas (LNG): 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.

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

Containers: 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.

Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro): 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). Detailed information is available in this category flowchart.

Ro-Ro freight traffic: All Ro-Ro units that carry cargo, both accompanied and unaccompanied, it 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.

Ro-Ro non-freight traffic: All other Roll-on/Roll-off traffic that does not carry cargo, such as passenger vehicles, import/export vehicles and unaccompanied caravans. Passenger vehicles are counted in units but do not have a tonnage as they are carrying no cargo, therefore Ro-Ro non-freight tonnage is mostly import/export vehicles.

Accompanied: Road goods vehicles carrying freight accompanied by the driver on the sea crossing.

Unaccompanied: 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.

About these statistics

Name of category of statistics	Label	Description
PORT0502	Accredited Official Statistics	These official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in December 2018. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.
PORT0503	Official Statistics in Development	These statistics are released under the ‘official statistics in development’ label – formerly called experimental statistics. Official statistics in development are official statistics that are temporarily undergoing a development and are being tested with users, in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics.  We have developed estimates by cargo group published in PORT0503. The estimates are based on total tonnage and units provided by the port which are validated to a high standard and published as provisional accredited official statistics in PORT0502. These totals are then split by cargo group based on data provided by shipping agents. If no shipping agent data is received for a port, then no estimates can be created. Where large amounts of data from a shipping agent is missing in the current quarter, a value has been imputed from the equivalent quarter in the previous year to allow for more accurate national trend analysis. This method is still under development and any feedback from users is welcome at Maritime.Stats@dft.gov.uk.

More information about these statistics can be found in the Method and coverage section.

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