Road freight: 2018

Main points

In 2018 total goods lifted by road within Wales decreased by 16% compared with 2017. Goods entering Wales decreased by 5% and goods leaving Wales decreased by 4% in 2018.

UK destination

• In 2018, 44% of road freight in Wales travelled within Wales only. This is a fall of 3.1 percentage points since 2017.
• HGVs carried 38 million tonnes of road freight within Wales, 25 million tonnes to Wales from the rest of the UK and 24 million tonnes from Wales to the rest of the UK.
• Of goods transported from Wales to other parts of the UK, 28% went to the West Midlands, 24% to the South West and 18% to the North West. These regions accounted for a total of 71% of goods transported from Wales to the rest of the UK.
• The same three regions accounted for 62% of goods transported into Wales from the rest of the UK. 25% came from the West Midlands, 19% from the North West and 18% from the South West. 

European Union (EU) destination

• 42% of Welsh tonnage carried by road from and to the EU was loaded/unloaded in Belgium, Luxembourg or Germany in 2018. The combined total of imports and exports carried by road to and from these countries decreased in 2018.
• For the EU, as a whole, the combined total of imports and exports fell by 11% in 2018, a similar fall to the previous year.

Largest groups of commodities (by weight) carried by HGVs

• 17 million tonnes of food products (including beverages and tobacco).
• 11 million tonnes of metal ore and other mining and quarrying (not including coal and lignite).
• 9 million tonnes of waste related products.
• 9 million tonnes of agricultural products.