More and more goods transported by road

In 2005, 75 percent of total domestic goods transport in the Netherlands took place by road. This is 2 percent points more than in 2002. The proportion of transport by inland shipping fell by 2 percent points to 23 percent.

Domestic goods transport

Substantial rise in road transport

Domestic road transport rose from 30 billion tonne-kilometres in 2002 to 34 billion in 2005. The volume of goods transported by water amounted to no more than 10.5 billion tonne-kilometres. Rail transport showed a slight increase, to just over one billion tonne-kilometres.

Road transport has the advantage of more flexibility: goods can be collected and delivered from door to door, and in the case of traffic blocks it is easier to find alternative routes.

Dutch move relatively most goods on inland  waterways

If international goods transport within the Netherlands is taken into account, the proportion of inland shipping increases, namely to 32 percent in 2005. Moreover this share is much larger than in other European countries. In both Belgium and Germany 14 percent of goods were transported via inland waterways.

With rail and inland shipping as alternatives for road transport, the Netherlands takes fifth place in Europe. Border-crossing rail transport of goods is expected to increase in the near future when the Betuwe-route comes into operation.

Goods transport in Europe in 2005

Baltic states make most use of rail transport

The Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania make the most use of the railways for goods transport. In 2005 no less than just under 60 percent of goods were transported by rail in these countries. Moreover, the weight of Baltic train freight is three times as high as in the remainder of Europe.

Pascal Ramaekers