Monday, June 2, 2008

Focus on freight: 2006 edition

The third edition of Focus on Freight is published today.

The 'Focus' series are occasional statistical publications produced to take an in-depth look at particular areas of transport. Focus on Freight is designed to bring together previously published information about the freight and logistics industry in Great Britain and highlight some of the key issues in chart form.

Focus on Freight presents an overview and analysis of trends (in most cases) over the ten years to 2005, with a longer perspective for some series where this is helpful. Some of the significant features highlighted in the report are

* The economy continues to be less freight intensive. Apart from a brief period in the late 1970s, freight transport has grown more slowly than GDP.

* The movement of goods is dominated by road transport. In 2005, road accounted for 64 per cent of tonnes moved and 82 per cent of tonnes lifted in Great Britain.

* Despite the dominance of road freight, lorry traffic is increasing more slowly than GDP.

* Rail has increased its share of goods moved in recent years, and is still the major mode for the movement of coal and coke. Water continues to dominate the movement of petroleum products.

* The stock of heavy goods vehicles increased by 6 per cent between 1995 and 2005, with a further shift to articulated vehicles.

* According to the Labour Force Survey, there are just over 300 thousand heavy goods vehicle drivers in Great Britain.

* French and Dutch lorries account for the majority of cabotage carried out in the UK. The UK cabotage penetration rate is 0.4 per cent.

* Sea continues to be the dominant mode for UK international trade. Freight traffic through the Channel Tunnel has expanded rapidly since it opened in May 1994, although with some levelling off in recent years. Although increasing by 40 per cent since 1995, the volume of freight handled at UK airports is relatively small. It does however have a high value.

* The number of goods vehicles travelling between the UK and mainland Europe has more than doubled since 1995. Most of this increase is due to foreign registered vehicles.

* Heavy goods vehicles consume about one sixth of all tonnes of oil equivalent consumed by transport.

* CO2 emissions of both HGVs and vans have been growing: over the period 1994 to 2004 by 19 per cent and 24 per cent respectively.

* While still a problem, the number of deaths in accidents involving heavy goods vehicles fell from 597 in 1995 to 486 in 2005 despite increasing traffic. Over the same period the number of people killed or seriously injured in these accidents fell by 37 per cent.

* Speeding also continues to be a problem, particularly in urban areas with a 30 mph limit, and on non-urban single carriageway roads.

* Taken over the whole 24 hour period, on average goods vehicles typically spend around 20 to 40 per cent of their time running on the road and around 20 to 50 per cent idle (empty and stationary).

* According to the experimental Corporate Services Price Index produced by the Office for National Statistics road freight transport prices rose by a third between 1996 and 2005, whilst rail prices, after falling, had nearly returned to their 1995 level by 2005, and prices for moving freight by sea and coastal services have been falling.

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