Less road haulage to and from the United Kingdom

Road haulage between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom declined last year, both by Dutch (-6.3 percent) and by foreign lorries (-5.2 percent). Foreign hauliers took up nearly 60 percent of two-way cargo traffic, while Dutch hauliers accounted for 40 percent. The latter share was still 51 percent in 2014.

The volume of goods dispatched far exceeds the amount collected: over three-quarters of goods transported between the Netherlands and the UK were outbound. The volume sent to the UK from the Netherlands by road declined by 4.8 percent.

Large share of perishables

Of the 1.5 million tonnes of cargo transported to the UK by Dutch lorries in 2018, more than half were perishable goods. These include meat and fish, fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers and plants for example. These types of products require a prompt delivery to the place of destination. In comparison with road transport to other countries, relatively large shares of perishable goods enter the United Kingdom. This share is only larger in transport to Ireland. However, Ireland occupies only a small share in cross-border haulage from the Netherlands with 0.1 percent.

Most journeys from the UK made to Ireland

Nearly one-third of all goods transported by road from the UK to other countries in 2018 were destined for Ireland. Of the 6.5 million tonnes of goods travelling from the UK to Ireland, 99.7 percent were carried by UK or Irish lorries.

On the European mainland, France and Germany were the main destinations for European lorries carrying UK goods with shares of 15.3 and 12.2 percent respectively. The Netherlands was the fifth most important destination.

The United Kingdom is set to leave the European Union. In a special dashboard, Statistics Netherlands is showing the main indicators for economic relationships between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands: the Brexit Monitor.