National statistics

Road freight statistics: April 2022 to March 2023

Road freight transported by Great Britain and UK registered Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) in the UK and internationally from April 2022 to March 2023.

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Important note for users

Data collection for 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 from July 2021 (Quarter 3) onwards, for domestic road freight statistics should not be compared.

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

Headline figures

Statistics on the domestic activity of GB-registered Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) operating in the UK, between April 2022 to March 2023.

In the 12 months ending March 2023:

  • 1.60 billion tonnes of goods were lifted by GB-registered HGVs operating in the UK

  • 171 billion tonne kilometres of goods were moved by GB-registered HGVs operating in the UK

  • 19.2 billion vehicle kilometres were travelled by GB-registered HGVs operating in the UK

Statistics on the international activity of UK-registered HGVs operating in the UK, between April 2022 to March 2023.

In the 12 months ending March 2023:

  • 6.5 million tonnes of goods were lifted by UK-registered HGVs operating internationally

  • 4.1 billion tonne kilometres of goods were moved by UK-registered HGVs operating internationally

The previous announcements of the UK leaving the EU and subsequent transition period, along with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and resulting supply chain disruption, have caused higher levels of volatility in international road freight statistics over the past 3 years. Therefore, caution should be taken when comparing this data to previous time periods.

Contact us

Road freight statistics

Email roadfreight.stats@dft.gov.uk

Media enquiries 0300 7777 878

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Published 26 September 2023