National statistics

Road goods vehicles travelling to Europe: 2021

Published 3 March 2022

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About this release

This statistical release summarises the number of trips made by road goods vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe each year, from January to December. The release also provides information on powered vehicles and unaccompanied trailers which are the 2 types of road goods vehicles. The information is collected from ferry operators and Eurotunnel, on a quarterly basis, using the Roll-on-Roll-off survey (also called “RoRo”). This covers all ferry routes from Great Britain to Europe, including the Channel Tunnel. Please note that domestic routes within the UK are not included.

Notes about the data

Figures prior to 2004 do not include data for sea routes to the Republic of Ireland. Long term comparisons in this release therefore use data from 2004 onwards and care should be taken when comparing data before and after this. Data on the country of registration for vehicles on routes to Northern Ireland have been excluded from the main findings of this release due to data undergoing a quality review.

In 2021, road goods vehicles made 3.0 million trips from Great Britain to Europe, a 6% decrease compared to the previous year and 12% below the 2015 to 2019 average.

Infographic 1: Total number of trips made by road goods vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe, split into powered vehicles and unaccompanied trailers, 2021

Road goods vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe in 2021 made 3.0 million trips, this is a 6% decrease compared to 2020 (3.2 million trips) and 12% below the average number of trips per year from 2015 to 2019.

Of which:

• powered vehicles made 2.0 million trips in 2021, down 9% compared to 2020 (2.1 million trips) and 19% below the 2015 to 2019 average
• unaccompanied trailers made 1.07 million trips in 2021, up 1% compared to 2020 (1.06 million trips) and 5% above the 2015 to 2019 average

Note: The sum of powered vehicles and unaccompanied trailers may not equal the total number of road goods vehicles due to rounding.

Definitions

This release summarises trips by road goods vehicles, which are made up of powered heavy goods vehicles and unaccompanied trailers.

Powered vehicles are Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) that weigh more than 3.5 tonnes and can be driven by a driver. This includes rigid lorries, tractors and trailers (counted as 1 unit) and tractive units only.

Unaccompanied trailers include tow-bar trailers and articulated semi-trailers, not accompanied on the ferry by a powered unit.

The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and European Union (EU) exit on road goods vehicles travelling to Europe

These statistics cover a period where there were some measures in place to limit the impact and transmission of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. COVID-19 has had a wide impact on UK society and economic activity since March 2020. These figures should be considered within this context, and so a timeline has been provided to assist.

Infographic 2: 2021 COVID-19 measures

Infographic 2 illustrates the COVID-19 measures in place each month between January 2021 and December 2021. The EU exit transition period ended on 31 December 2020. On 6 January 2021, there was a third lockdown in England. Lockdown restrictions began to ease between March and July 2021. The delta variant was identified in England between May and June 2021. Finally, on 8 December 2021 some restrictions were implemented following the spread of the Omicron variant.

Chart 1: Number of trips made by road goods vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe, quarterly from 2011 to 2021, broken down into powered vehicles and unaccompanied trailers (Table RORO0101)

All road goods vehicles

The total number of trips by road goods vehicles travelling to Europe was on an upward trend from 2011 to 2015, followed by a relatively stable period between 2015 and 2019. However, there has been larger than usual volatility from 2019 to 2021, with the number of trips in 2021 12% below the 2015 to 2019 average. This coincides with the end of the transition period for the UK leaving the EU, the COVID-19 pandemic, and reported disruption to global supply chains including shortages of HGV drivers and floods which affected some container businesses in mainland Europe. It is not possible to isolate the potential impact of any of these individual factors.

Powered vehicles and unaccompanied trailers

Looking at powered vehicles, the total number of trips increased from 1,989 thousand in 2011 to a peak of 2,467 thousand in 2016 but then began to fall, with 2,306 thousand trips in 2019. The number of trips by unaccompanied trailers is historically lower than powered vehicles but has been slowly increasing, from 817 thousand in 2011 to 1,067 thousand in 2019.

Since 2019, the trends for both powered vehicles and unaccompanied trailers has been volatile, but the gradual move away from powered vehicles and towards unaccompanied trailers has continued. Trips by powered vehicles in 2021 were 9% lower than 2020 and 19% below the 2015 to 2019 average, while trips by unaccompanied trailers were 1% higher than 2020 and 5% higher than the 2015 to 2019 average.

Chart 2: Number of trips made by roads goods vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe, shown with typical variation from the average, quarterly between 2015 and 2021 (Table RORO0101)

The 5-year average was calculated using data from 2015 to 2019. The average number of trips over this period was 857 thousand. The typical variation from this figure is shown by the standard deviation which, at 27 thousand trips, indicates that the number of trips has typically been between 830 thousand and 884 thousand (27 thousand higher or lower than the 857 thousand average) over this 5 year period.

The number of trips has been within, or close to, 2 standard deviations of the average for all quarters before 2020. Wider than usual variation was seen throughout 2020 and 2021 (greater than ±2 standard deviations), coinciding with the end of the EU-exit transition period and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of trips made by road goods vehicles travelling to Europe fell more than 2 standard deviations below the average during 2020 quarter 2 (April to June) when the first national lockdown occurred. As COVID-19 restrictions eased in 2020 quarter 3 (July to September) and 2020 quarter 4 (October to December), there was a recovery, and the number of trips was within or close to typical variation.

In 2021 quarter 1 (January to March), following the end of the EU transition period and the introduction of a third national lockdown, the number of trips fell outside 2 standard deviations below the average. In 2021 quarter 2 (April to June) and quarter 3 (July to September) there was slight recovery, although the number of trips still fell below typical variation. Finally, in 2021 quarter 4 (October to December) a recovery can be seen as the number of trips returns inside the typical variation.

Powered vehicles: UK-registered and foreign-registered vehicles travelling to Europe

Since the earliest comparable data in 2004, trips by foreign-registered powered vehicles have outnumbered trips by UK-registered powered vehicles, with the number of trips by UK-registered vehicles decreasing over time.

Note: This section only covers powered vehicles, the country of registration is not collected for unaccompanied trailers. In this release, powered vehicles refer to heavy goods vehicles that can be driven by a driver.

Infographic 3: Total number of trips made by powered vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe, split into UK-registered and foreign-registered vehicles, 2021

Note: The sum of UK-registered and foreign-registered vehicles may not equal the total number of powered vehicles due to rounding.

• UK-registered vehicles made 0.2 million trips in 2021, a 19% decrease compared to 2020 (0.3 million trips) and 34% below the 2015 to 2019 average
• Foreign-registered vehicles made 1.7 million trips in 2021, a 7% decrease compared to 2020 (1.8 million trips) and 17% below the 2015 to 2019 average

Chart 3: Number of trips made by UK and foreign-registered powered vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe, quarterly, 2004 to 2021 (Table RORO0101)

Foreign-registered

The number of foreign-registered powered vehicles saw an initial increase from 2004 to 2007. As the 2008 recession hit, the number of foreign-registered vehicles declined. A recovery was then seen from 2013 onwards. Then numbers then began to fluctuate between 2016 and 2020, likely due to the upcoming exit of the UK from the EU and increases in unaccompanied freight, until a sudden decline was seen when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The number of foreign-registered vehicles started to see some recovery towards typical levels during late 2021.

UK-registered

The number of UK-registered powered vehicles has gradually declined since 2004. A sudden decline was then seen during 2020, which was likely due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. During 2021, the number of UK-registered vehicles has continued to fall.

Powered vehicles: Country of vehicle registration

Definition:

The country of vehicle registration is the country where the powered vehicle is registered to, regardless of where it has travelled from, or the nationality of the driver. In this release, a powered vehicle is a heavy goods vehicle that can be driven by a driver. The country of vehicle registration is not collected for unaccompanied trailers.

The proportion of trips made by powered vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe that are registered to Western European countries such as the UK, Netherlands, Germany and France has fallen since Eastern European countries such as Poland and Romania joined the EU.

The UK was the most prevalent country of vehicle registration making trips to Europe 10 years ago. However, it is now second with a 12% share (229 thousand trips). This is down 19% compared to 2020 (284 thousand trips) and 34% below the 2015 to 2019 average.

Poland is currently the largest country of vehicle registration, when it first joined the EU in 2004 it had a 3% share (60 thousand trips) compared to the 21% share in 2021 (419 thousand trips). This is down 9% compared to 2020 (461 thousand trips) and 11% below the 2015 to 2019 average.

Since Romania joined the EU, its share of trips made by powered vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe has risen from 1% in 2007 (26 thousand trips) to 10% in 2021 (204 thousand trips) making it the third largest country of vehicle registration. This is down 8% compared to 2020 (223 thousand trips) and 15% below the 2015 to 2019 average.

Chart 4: Number of trips made by powered vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe, by country of vehicle registration, 10 year comparison (Table RORO0201)

During 2021, the top 3 countries of vehicle registration were Poland (419 thousand), UK (229 thousand), Romania (204 thousand).

In comparison, during 2011 the top 3 countries of vehicle registration were UK (419 thousand), Poland (274 thousand), Netherlands (203 thousand). Romania was the ninth country of vehicle registration in 2011 (78 thousand).

Port groups

Dover Strait:

Ferry routes from ports in Dover, Folkestone and Ramsgate; along with road goods vehicles using the Channel Tunnel.

English Channel:

All ports on the south coast of Great Britain, west of Folkestone.

Irish Sea:

All ports on the west coast of Great Britain.

North Sea:

All ports on the east coast of Great Britain, north of and including the Thames estuary.

All road goods vehicles

In 2021, more vehicles left Great Britain via the Dover Strait port group (55%) than all the other port groups combined. However, different trends can be seen for powered vehicles and unaccompanied trailers.

Powered vehicles

Of the 2.0 million trips made by powered vehicles, the majority (84%) left Great Britain via the shorter routes on the Dover Strait port group.

Unaccompanied trailers

Of the 1.1 million trips made by unaccompanied trailers, the majority (72%) travelled via the longer North Sea port group routes. Unlike powered vehicles only 2% of unaccompanied trailers left Great Britain via the Dover Strait port group. Detailed statistics can be found in RORO0301, RORO0401 and RORO0501.

Chart 5: Total number of trips made by road goods vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe by port group and type, 2021 (Table RORO0301)

Chart 5 shows that of the 3.0 million trips made by all road goods vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe:

The Dover Strait had 1,658 thousand trips (55%) off which 1,640 thousand were by powered vehicles (99%) and 19 thousand by unaccompanied trailers (1%).

The North Sea had 922 thousand trips (30%) of which 150 thousand were by powered vehicles (16%) and 772 thousand by unaccompanied trailers (84%).

The Irish Sea had 380 thousand trips (13%) off which 126 thousand were by powered vehicles (33%) and 254 thousand by unaccompanied trailers (67%).

The English Channel has 67 thousand trips (2%) of which 41 thousand were by powered vehicles (62%) and 26 thousand by unaccompanied trailers (38%).

Country of disembarkation

Definition:

The country of disembarkation is the country of the foreign port where the vehicle leaves from the roll-on roll-of ferry it was carried by. This is not necessarily the final destination of the vehicle.

All road goods vehicles

While the majority of the 3.0 million trips made by road goods vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe disembarked in France (57%), 21% disembarked in the Netherlands, 13% in the Republic of Ireland and 9% in other countries. Large differences can be seen when comparing powered vehicles and unaccompanied trailers.

Powered vehicles

Of the 2.0 million trips made by powered vehicles, 86% disembarked in France (via the Dover Strait) while only 8 % disembarked in the Netherlands and 6% in the Republic of Ireland (these countries being the overall top 3 biggest nations of disembarkation). Less than 0.5% disembarked in other countries.

Unaccompanied trailers

Of the 1.1 million trips made by unaccompanied trailers, the Netherlands (via the North Sea) was the biggest single country of disembarkation accounting for 45% of all trips, while the Republic of Ireland accounted for 24% of trips and France just 4%. The remaining 27% disembarked in other countries.

Note: ‘other’ is predominantly Belgium, along with Denmark, Estonia and Finland.

Chart 6: Number of trips made by road goods vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Europe by country of disembarkation, 2021 (Tables RORO0301, RORO0401, RORO0501)

Data source and more information

Accompanying data tables are available which give further detail on the key results presented in this statistical release.

Further information about the statistics and methodology in this report can be found in the roll-on roll-of international freight statistics notes and definitions.

Other statistics related to freight and trade are available, which include:

Domestic road freight: 2020

International road freight: 2020

ONS UK trade statistical bulletins

Port freight annual statistics: 2020

Rail freight statistics

Aviation statistics

Please contact road freight statistics if you have any questions about DfT road freight 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

Roll-on roll-off international freight statistics

Email roadfreight.stats@dft.gov.uk

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