National statistics

Domestic road freight statistics, United Kingdom: 2022

Published 22 June 2023

About this release

This statistical release summarises the latest statistics on the domestic activity of GB-registered Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) operating in the UK during 2022.

It covers the amount and type of goods carried by GB-registered HGVs, as well as their origin and destination and the distance they travelled. The information is derived from surveys of businesses that operate road goods vehicles.

This report also summarises the latest information about the road freight sector across different official data sources.

Notes about the data: due to rounding, totals may not appear to equal the sum of their parts.

Important note for users

Data collection for domestic road freight statistics moved from a paper to online survey midway through 2021. An investigation of the data has concluded that the paper data up to June 2021 (Quarter 2) and online data since July 2021 (Quarter 3) should not be compared. A number of factors related to the online data collection were considered, alongside other external factors which may have influenced recent data changes.

A detailed explanation of the methodology change and the impact on the data can be found within the methodology note.

Definition

HGV: a lorry with a plated weight of 3.5 tonnes or more (the plated weight is the maximum permissible weight of a vehicle when loaded).

Headline figures

In 2022, 1.64 billion tonnes of goods were lifted by GB-registered HGVs operating in the UK.

Infographic 1: Total amount of domestic goods lifted, goods moved, and vehicle kilometres travelled by GB-registered HGVs during 2022 (Table RFS0101)

Please note the difference in units between annual and quarterly figures shown in Infographic 1 above.

Goods lifted and goods moved both remained steady throughout 2022, varying by no more than 3% from quarter to quarter.

Distance travelled was also relatively steady during 2022, varying by no more than 6% from quarter to quarter but there was greater variability over the course of 2022, with a 6% decrease between Quarter 2 (April to June) and Quarter 3 (July to September), before recovering with a 5% increase in Quarter 4 (October to December).

Definitions

Goods lifted: the weight of goods carried, measured in tonnes. This is a measure of the amount of goods transported around the UK by GB-registered HGVs.

Goods moved: the weight of goods carried, multiplied by the distance hauled, measured in tonne kilometres. This is a measure of the total activity of GB-registered HGVs, accounting for both the distance travelled by each vehicle and the weight of its load.

Commodities lifted by GB-registered HGVs

The most common type of haul lifted by GB vehicles in 2022 was groupage (23% of goods by weight), which is where vehicles carry a mixture of different commodities. The most common single category of commodity lifted was mining products (16%) and then food products (14%). The top 5 commodities lifted accounted for 71% of all goods lifted by GB-registered HGVs in the UK.

Infographic 2: Top 5 commodity types lifted by GB-registered HGVs in 2022 (Table RFS0104)

Definition

Commodity: goods are classified into commodity types and sub-categories by the ‘standard goods classification for transport statistics 2007’ NST2007.

Dangerous goods

In 2022, 5% of all goods lifted within the UK were declared as dangerous goods, accounting for 85 million tonnes. Dangerous goods transported in 2022 were predominantly flammable liquids (57 million tonnes, 67%), for example, alcoholic beverages, crude petroleum, fuel, and some chemicals.

Chart 1: Dangerous goods lifted by GB-registered HGVs by dangerous goods class in 2022 (Table RFS0118)

Note

The 9 dangerous goods classes are: flammable liquids, gases, corrosive substances, flammable solids, oxidisers and organic peroxides, toxic and infectious substances, radioactive materials, explosives, and miscellaneous substances.

Intermodal road freight activity

The 1.64 billion tonnes of goods lifted by GB-registered HGVs in the UK during 2022 equated to 156 million HGV journeys, of which 6.0 million journeys (4% of journeys) involved at least 1 element of inter-modal activity. This equates to 125 million tonnes of freight (8% of tonnage) using HGVs and at least 1 other different mode of transport.

Definition

Inter-modal: in this publication an inter-modal journey is an HGV journey where a different mode of transport is used to transfer goods to or from the HGV.

Journey: goods transported from an origin to a destination by an HGV.

Infographic 3: Proportion of inter-modal journeys involving GB-registered HGVs by mode of transport, in 2022 (Table RFS0132)

Intermodal commodities

The 3 most common commodities transported on inter-modal trips during 2022 were:

• groupage 28.5 million tonnes (23% of inter-modal tonnage was carried in consignments of mixed goods)
• food products 17.8 million tonnes (14% of inter-modal tonnage)
• mining, quarrying and metal ores 12.4 million tonnes (10% of inter-modal tonnage)

Method of transportation

The receptible or method used to transport goods differs for inter-modal goods compared to goods transported solely by HGVs, reflecting the requirements of transferring goods between modes of transport.

Chart 2: Goods lifted by GB-registered HGVs, by method of transportation, inter-modal journeys, and all journeys, in 2022

The most common method of transportation used to transfer goods between modes for inter-modal journeys was Large Freight Containers (26%). Whereas, across all road freight journeys the most common method of transportation was Solid Bulk (28%).

Definitions

Methods of transportation:

Solid Bulk: commodity transported unpacked in large quantities. It refers to material in granular form, for example, coal.

Liquid bulk: similar to solid bulk, however the material it refers to is of liquid form, for example, petroleum/crude oil.

Palletised goods: commodity transported in a pallet, to support goods giving stability to commodity during transportation, for example, beverages.

Large freight container: also known as shipping containers, commodity transported in a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling, for example, large reusable steel boxes (intermodal shipments), corrugated boxes.

Empty running

Infographic 4: Distance travelled by empty GB-registered HGVs in the UK, million kilometres, in 2022 (Table RFS0117)

In 2022, GB registered HGVs travelled 5,846 million kilometres whilst empty. This is 30% of total (loaded and empty) vehicle kilometres travelled during the same period (19,533 million kilometres).

Economic profile of the road freight sector

Infographic 5: GDP and diesel price in 2022 compared to 2021

Emissions in 2022

Infographic 6: Latest estimates from Greenhouse Gas emission statistics

HGV driver working time and pay

Infographic 7: Average weekly working hours and hourly median pay in 2022 for all employees and HGV drivers in the United Kingdom

In the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 it is stated that HGV drivers must not exceed an average of 48 hours in a week’s work.

More information

Further information about the statistics and methodology in this report can be found in the road freight domestic and international statistics guidance.

Other statistics related to freight and trade are available:

• International road freight statistics: 2022

• Road goods vehicles travelling to Europe: 2022

• Road Traffic statistics

• Office for National Statistics UK trade statistical bulletins

• Port freight annual statistics: 2021

• Rail freight statistics factsheet: 2022

• Aviation statistics

Please contact road freight statistics if you have any questions about the Department for Transport’s (DfT) road freight statistics.

Strengths and weaknesses of data

The figures in this release are mainly derived from a continuous survey sent to road freight businesses, which provides information on the activity of GB-registered HGVs operating across the UK only. As such, the statistics exclude HGVs registered in Northern Ireland, foreign-registered HGVs and vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 3.5 tonnes or less (Light Goods Vehicles and Vans). The figures also exclude GB-registered HGVs when operating outside of the UK. For information on GB-registered HGVs making international trips please see the accompanying International Road Freight Statistics.

This survey is based on a stratified sample of HGVs. Figures are weighted to be representative of the HGV population however, like any survey, the figures in this publication are estimates with potential sampling errors.

Guidance on the methods used to compile these statistics can be found in the Road Freight Statistics notes and definitions. The sample sizes of the statistics and sampling error estimates can be found within Table RFS0129, broken down by type and weight of vehicle. The sample size for the 12 months ending December 2022 was 8,382 vehicles.

This release uses administrative data from DVLA and DVSA. More detail is available on the impact of this on the quality of these statistics.

Data comparability and 2021 methodology change

Before 2021 Quarter 3 , data was collected via paper questionnaires. At the start of 2021 Quarter 3 the survey forms transitioned from paper to online format. Here, the vehicle operator provides the same information as previously requested in the paper survey. The new online survey has been made more intuitive based on extensive user testing. The structure has been streamlined and guidance provided for each relevant question to aid interpretation. This increases the likelihood of respondents providing information that more accurately reflects the vehicles true activity, therefore providing more accurate estimates of the overall HGV population.

Due to the methodology change, comparisons between paper (pre-2021 Quarter 3) and online data should not be made. This means no long-term data trends are available for these statistics. More information regarding the methodology change can be found within the methodology note. Long term trends on the level of HGV traffic in Great Britain over time are available in DfT’s Road Traffic Statistics.

National Statistics

These statistics are designated as National Statistics. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards as set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. The Code of Practice for Statistics plays an essential role in ensuring that statistics published by government inspire the public confidence through demonstrating trustworthiness and providing high-quality statistics.

The continued designation of the road freight statistics as National Statistics was confirmed in December 2016 following a compliance check by the Office for Statistics Regulation against the Code of Practice in July 2016.

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Contact details

Road freight statistics

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