In Q3 2022, a total of 43.4 million tonnes of goods was transported by road, compared with 43.2 million tonnes carried in Q3 2021.
The commodity group Quarry Products, Metal Ores & Peat represented nearly a third (29%) of all tonnes carried by road in Q3 2022.
In Q3 2022, the total distance covered by road freight transport was 422 million kilometres, a decrease of 7% when compared with Q3 2021.
| Road freight activity, Q3 2019-Q3 2022 | |||||
| Q3 2019 | Q3 2020 | Q3 2021 | Q3 2022 | % change Q3 2021 - Q3 2022 | |
| Tonne-km (million) | 3,277 | 3,110 | 3,326 | 2,989 | -10% |
| Tonnes carried (thousand) | 42,061 | 39,771 | 43,184 | 43,366 | 0% |
| Vehicle kilometres (million) | 454 | 401 | 455 | 422 | -7% |
| Laden journeys (thousand) | 3,711 | 3,306 | 3,601 | 3,344 | -7% |
Figure 1 shows that in Q3 2022, a total of 43.4 million tonnes of goods were transported by road, which shows little change when compared with Q3 2021.
Figure 2 shows that goods vehicles involved in the Delivery of Goods to Road Works or Building Sites carried 16,723 thousand tonnes in Q3 2022, which was the highest among all types of work carried out by goods vehicles.
Figure 3 shows that the commodity group 'Quarry Products, Metal Ores & Peat' represented over a quarter (28%) of all tonnes carried. This was the largest share among the categories of commodity groups in the survey.
Please note that the COVID-19 pandemic could impact on the yearly comparison of data.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (28 February 2023) published results from the Road Freight Transport Survey for Q3 2022.
Commenting on the annual figures, Dr. Nele van der Wielen, Statistician in the Transport Division, said: “The figures show a slight increase in the tonnes of goods transported by road. In Q3 2022, a total of 43.4 million tonnes of goods were transported by road, compared with 43.2 million carried in Q3 2021. This was an increase of 3% when compared with Q3 2019 (pre-COVID-19).
Activity measured as weight by distance, or tonne-kilometres (tkm), was 3,344 million tkm in Q3 2022, a decrease of 7% compared with Q3 2021.
The total distance covered by road freight transport in Q3 2022 was 422 million kilometres, down 7% compared with Q3 2021. The commodity groups that were contributing most to vehicle kilometres were Foodstuffs, and the miscellaneous category Other Goods.
The largest amount of work undertaken by goods vehicles in Q3 2022 was the Delivery of Goods to Road Works or Building Sites at 16,723 thousand tonnes, followed by the miscellaneous category Other Goods at 4,807 thousand tonnes.
The commodity group Quarry Products, Metal Ores & Peat represented nearly a third (29%) of all tonnes carried. This was the largest share among the categories of commodity groups in the survey, followed by Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products at 6,434 thousand tonnes.”