National statistics

Road goods vehicles travelling to Europe: 2022

Published 16 March 2023

About this release

This statistical release summarises the number of trips made by road goods vehicles travelling from Great Britain (GB) to Europe. The release also provides information on whether the roads good vehicles were powered vehicles or unaccompanied trailers, and which country they were registered in. The information is collected from ferry operators and Eurotunnel each quarter, using the Roll-on-Roll-off survey (also called ’RoRo’). This covers all ferry routes from GB to Europe, including the Channel tunnel.

Please note that domestic routes within the UK and routes to Northern Ireland have been excluded from the main findings of this release.

Notes about the data

Figures prior to 2004 do not include data for sea routes to the Republic of Ireland (RoI). Long term comparisons in this release therefore use data from 2004 onwards and care should be taken when comparing data before and after this period.

Data for vehicles registered to the RoI between April to June 2013 (Quarter 2) and April to June 2021 (Quarter 2) have been excluded from table RORO0201 and RORO1001 of this release. This is because some license plate recognition applications were unable to identify license plates from the RoI during this period. We are working to retrospectively resolve this issue. Data prior to April to June 2013 (Quarter 2) and following April to June 2021 (Quarter 2) is unaffected and can be found in table RORO0201 and RORO1001.

In 2022, road goods vehicles made 3.22 million trips from GB to Europe, a 6% increase compared to the previous year but 6% below the 2015 to 2019 average.

Infographic 1: Total number of trips made by road goods vehicles travelling from GB to Europe, split into powered vehicles and unaccompanied trailers, 2022 Table RORO0101

Road goods vehicles travelling from GB to Europe in 2022 made 3.22 million trips, a 6% increase compared to 2021 (3.03 million trips) but 6% below the average number of trips per year between 2015 to 2019.

Of which powered vehicles made 2.02 million trips in 2022, up 3% compared to 2021 (1.96 million trips) but 17% below the 2015 to 2019 average. Unaccompanied trailers made 1.20 million trips in 2022, up 12% compared to 2021 (1.07 million trips) and 19% above the 2015 to 2019 average.

Note

Percentage change figures are calculated using non-rounded figures.

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.

Chart 1: Number of trips made by road goods vehicles travelling from GB to Europe, quarterly from 2012 to 2022, 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. There was larger than usual volatility between 2019 and 2021, with the number of trips in 2021 12% below the 2015 to 2019 average. This coincided with the end of the transition period for the UK leaving the EU and the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the number of trips has broadly been recovering despite ongoing challenges in the industry, including disruptions to P&O Ferries, reported disruption to global supply chains and challenges recruiting and retaining HGV drivers. However, it is not possible to isolate the potential impact of any of these individual factors.

Powered vehicles and unaccompanied trailers

For powered vehicles, the total number of trips increased from 2.0 million in 2012 to a peak of 2.5 million in 2016, before falling to 2.3 million trips in 2019.

The number of trips by unaccompanied trailers is historically lower than powered vehicles but has been steadily increasing, from 0.8 million in 2012 to 1.1 million in 2019.

Since 2019, trends for powered vehicles and unaccompanied trailers have been volatile, but the steady decline of trips by powered vehicles and increase by unaccompanied trailers has continued.

Trips by powered vehicles in 2022 were 3% higher than 2021 but 17% below the 2015 to 2019 average, while trips by unaccompanied trailers were 12% higher than 2021 and 19% higher than the 2015 to 2019 average.

Chart 2: Number of trips made by roads goods vehicles travelling from GB to Europe, shown with typical variation from the 2015 to 2019 average, quarterly between 2015 and 2022 Table RORO0101

Chart 2 illustrates the number of trips made by road goods vehicles travelling from GB to Europe between 2015 and 2022, as well as the amount of variation from the 2015 to 2019 average.

The average number of trips per quarter between 2015 and 2019 was 0.86 million. The typical variation from this figure is shown by the standard deviation, which at 0.027 million trips indicates the number of trips has typically been between 0.83 and 0.88 million trips (0.027 million higher or lower than the 0.86 million average) over this 5-year period.

The number of trips was below the 2015 to 2019 average in each quarter of 2022, with the number of trips falling below expected variation in January to March 2022 (Quarter 1) and again in July to September 2022 (Quarter 3).

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.

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 2: Total number of trips made by powered vehicles travelling from GB to Europe, split into UK-registered and foreign-registered vehicles, 2022 Table RORO0201

Note

The sum of UK-registered and foreign-registered vehicles may not equal the total number of powered vehicles due to rounding. Among powered vehicles, there were a further 0.003 million vehicles (<0.5%) where the country of registration was completely unknown.

UK-registered vehicles made 0.27 million trips in 2022, this is a 19% increase compared to 2021 (0.23 million trips) but a 22% decrease compared to the 2015 to 2019 average.

Foreign-registered vehicles made 1.74 million trips in 2022, this is a 4% increase when compared to 2021 (1.68 million) but a 14% decrease compared to the 2015 to 2019 average.

Chart 3: Number of trips made by UK and foreign-registered powered vehicles travelling from GB to Europe, quarterly, 2004 to 2022 Table RORO0101

Note

Since January 2022 it has been necessary to estimate the country of registration for approx. 30 to 40,000 trips per quarter. Due to the specific ferry routes taken we estimate these to be foreign registered vehicles, but the specific foreign country of registration is unknown.

Trips by foreign-registered vehicles

The number of trips by foreign-registered powered vehicles saw an initial increase from 2004 to 2007. As the 2008 recession hit, the number of foreign-registered vehicles declined, with a recovery seen from 2013 onwards. Vehicle numbers fluctuated between 2016 and 2019, likely due to the UK’s expected withdrawal from the EU, followed by a sudden decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and further volatility in 2021 after the end of the EU exit transition period. The number of foreign-registered vehicles has continued to fluctuate, with a slight increase seen during late 2022.

Trips by UK-registered vehicles

The number of trips by UK-registered powered vehicles has gradually declined since 2004. A sudden decline was then seen during 2020 and 2021, likely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the end of the EU exit transition period. During 2022, the number of UK-registered vehicles has seen a small increase on 2021.

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 GB 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 ten years ago; however, it is now second with a 14% share (273,000 trips).

Poland is currently the largest country of vehicle registration. When it first joined the EU in 2004 it had a 3% share (60,000 trips) compared to a 17% share in 2022 (335,000 trips).

Since Romania joined the EU, its share of trips made by powered vehicles travelling from GB to Europe has risen from 1% in 2007 (26,000 trips) to 7% in 2022 (150,000 trips) making it the third largest country of vehicle registration.

Infographic 3: Number of trips made by powered vehicles travelling from GB to Europe, by country of vehicle registration, 10 year comparison Table RORO0201

During 2022, the top 3 countries of vehicle registration were Poland (335,000), UK (273,000) and Romania (150,000).

In comparison, during 2012 the top 3 countries of vehicle registration were UK (393,000), Poland (295,000) and the Netherlands (204,000). Romania was the nineteenth country of vehicle registration in 2012 (105,000). In 2022, the Netherlands was the fourth country of vehicle registration (139,000).

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 GB, west of Folkestone

Irish Sea:

All ports on the west coast of GB

North Sea:

All ports on the east coast of GB, north of and including the Thames estuary

All road goods vehicles

In 2022, more vehicles left GB via the Dover Strait port group (53%) 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 GB via the shorter routes on the Dover Strait port group.

Unaccompanied trailers

Of the 1.2 million trips made by unaccompanied trailers, the majority (74%) travelled via the longer North Sea port group routes. Unlike powered vehicles only 1% of unaccompanied trailers left GB via the Dover Strait port group. Detailed statistics can be found in Tables RORO0301, RORO0401 and RORO0501.

Chart 4: Total number of trips made by road goods vehicles travelling from GB to Europe by port group and type, 2022 Table RORO0301

Port Group	Powered vehicles	Unaccompanied trailers
Dover Strait	1,689,952	16,949
North Sea	149,713	884,464
Irish Sea	136,512	270,705
English Channel	43,942	26,034

Chart 4 shows that of the 3.2 million trips made by all road goods vehicles travelling from GB to Europe:

• the Dover Strait had 1.71 million trips (53%) off which 1.69 million were by powered vehicles (99%) and 0.02 million by unaccompanied trailers (1%)

• the North Sea had 1.03 million trips (32%) of which 0.15 million were by powered vehicles (14%) and 0.88 million by unaccompanied trailers (86%)

• the Irish Sea had 0.41 million trips (13%) off which 0.14 million were by powered vehicles (34%) and 0.27 million by unaccompanied trailers (66%)

• the English Channel has 0.07 million trips (2%) of which 0.04 million were by powered vehicles (62%) and 0.03 million by unaccompanied trailers (38%)

Note

Figures are rounded to 2 decimal places.

Country of disembarkation

Definition

The country of disembarkation is the country of the foreign port where the vehicle leaves 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 3.2 million trips made by road goods vehicles travelling from GB to Europe disembarked in France (55%), 20% disembarked in the Netherlands, 13% in the RoI and 12% 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), 7% disembarked in the Netherlands and 7% in the RoI (these countries being the overall top three biggest nations of disembarkation). Less than 0.5% disembarked in other countries.

Unaccompanied vehicles

Of the 1.2 million trips made by unaccompanied trailers, the Netherlands (via the North Sea) was the biggest single country of disembarkation accounting for 42% of all trips, while the RoI accounted for 23% of trips and France just 4%. The remaining 31% disembarked in other countries.

Note 

‘Other’ is predominantly Belgium, along with Denmark, Germany, Estonia and Finland.

Chart 5: Number of trips made by road goods vehicles travelling from GB to Europe by country of disembarkation, 2022

Data source and more information

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

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

Other statistics related to freight and trade are available.

Domestic road freight: July 2021 to June 2022

International road freight: 2021

ONS UK trade statistical bulletins

Port freight annual statistics: 2021

Rail statistics factsheet: 2021

Aviation statistics

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

Strengths and weaknesses of data

There is some uncertainty about the exact numbers of trips made by vehicles registered in any particular country. This is because information on the country of registration is derived by some operators from the vehicle registration mark, while others estimate the nationality from the manifest or waybill, or in some cases, use the country of booking as a proxy for the country of registration.

Data for vehicles registered to the RoI between April to June 2013 (Quarter 2) and April to June 2021 (Quarter 2) have been excluded from table RORO0201 and RORO1001 of this release. This is because some license plate recognition applications were unable to identify license plates from the RoI during this period. We are working to retrospectively resolve this issue. Data prior to April to June 2013 (Quarter 2) and following April to June 2021 (Quarter 2) is unaffected and can be found in table RORO0201 and RORO1001.

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

Email roadfreight.stats@dft.gov.uk

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