Road freight: 2021

Data is provided by the Department for Transport (DfT). Domestic information in this headline covers July 2021 to June 2022.

DfT changed data collection methods for domestic road freight statistics (DfT) only from a paper based to online survey midway through 2021. As a result, data pre-July to September 2021 and online data, July to September 2021 onwards, should not be compared.  International road freight data have not been affected.

The road freight sector faced significant volatility over this period as a result of the UK’s exit from the European Union, the coronavirus pandemic and recruitment and retention challenges for HGV drivers.

More information is available in DfT’s methodology note.

Main points

Between July 2021 to June 2022 a total of 116.1 million tonnes (Mt) of goods were lifted in Wales by UK registered heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). Of this total:

• 60.4Mt of goods were carried by road within Wales. The largest goods category was ‘metal ore and other mining and quarrying’ that made up 31% of within Wales total goods
• 28.8Mt of goods entered Wales from the rest of the UK. The largest category of this was ‘grouped goods' ^{[footnote 1]} that made up 21% of inward goods
• 26.9Mt of goods were carried from Wales to the rest of the UK. The largest category of this was ‘grouped goods’ that made up 23% of outwards goods

[1] Grouped goods: a mixture of types of goods which are transported together.

Figure 1: Goods lifted by road within, to and from Wales by UK registered HGVs, July 2021 to June 2022 [Note 1]

Image

Description of Figure 1: Bar chart shows that around 60Mt of goods were lifted by road within Wales, 29Mt to Wales from the rest of UK and around 27Mt from Wales to the rest of the UK.

Source: Department for Transport

[Note 1] Goods lifted: the weight of goods carried, measured in tonnes.

Commodity groups

Figure 2: Commodities group (kgs) carried by HGVs in Wales, July 2021 to June 2022 [Note 1]

Image

Description of Figure 2: Bar chart shows shows top 5 commodity groups that were carried by HGVs in Wales from July 2021 and June 2022. Metal ore registered the highest at 26.9Mt of weight followed by grouped goods (20.5Mt). Food products accounted for 13% of goods carried by HGVs in Wales over the same period.

Source: Department for Transport

[Note 1] Grouped goods: a mixture of types of goods which are transported together identified and therefore cannot be assigned to groups 01 to 16.

More details on commodity groups can be accessed from DfT publication Road Freight Statistics Notes and Definition (pages 17 to 18).

UK Destinations July 2021 to June 2022

Between July 2021 to June 2022, 52% of road freight in Wales had travelled within Wales only.

Of goods transported from Wales to other parts of the UK, 23% went to the West Midlands, 27% to the South West of England and 20% to the North West of England. These regions accounted for a total of 69% of goods transported from Wales to the rest of the UK.

The same three regions accounted for 60% of goods transported into Wales from the rest of the UK. 24% came from the West Midlands, 17% from the North West of England and 20% from the South West of England.

European Union (EU) Destinations 2021

321,000 tonnes of goods were moved between Wales and the EU by road in 2021 (figure 3).

Between 2019 and 2020 total EU exports to Wales fell by 3% whilst imports dropped by 29%. These fell further in 2021, with EU exports falling by 39% and imports by 35%. These statistics cover a period where some coronavirus restrictions remained, as well as the UK’s exit from the European Union.

For the EU as a whole, the combined total of imports and exports of goods carried by road decreased by 38% in 2021 compared to 2020.

Image

Description of Figure 3: Bar chart shows that for the EU as a whole, there were decreases in combined total of imports and exports of goods carried by road compared to 2020.

Source: Department for Transport

51% of Welsh tonnage carried by road from and to the EU was loaded/unloaded in Belgium, Luxembourg or Germany in 2021. The combined total of imports and exports of goods carried by road to and from these countries increased by 19% in 2021.