More road haulage for fifth year in a row

Already in 2018, the total weight in domestic haulage by Dutch lorries was higher (548 million tonnes) than ever before. This continued to increase by 2.2 percent to 560 million tonnes in 2019. Domestic haulage has been on the rise since 2015. International goods transport by Dutch hauliers declined from 132 million tonnes in 2018 to 129 million tonnes in 2019. This figure has fluctuated in recent years, with a 3.0-percent increase in 2017 following a 3.5-percent drop in the previous year.

Less road haulage to and from neighbouring countries

Last year’s decline in cross-border transport by Dutch lorries was mainly caused by lower volumes carried to and from neighbouring countries. The weight transported to and from Germany dropped in particular, by 4.1 million tonnes (8.2 percent). Transport across the Belgian border was down by 1.2 million tonnes (2.9 percent).

A decline (1.9 percent) was also seen in road haulage to and from France, the most important transport link after Germany and Belgium. Weight transported to and from Scandinavia, on the other hand, was up by 9.2 percent. Goods transport across the border with the United Kingdom remained more or less the same.

Slight increase in commercial haulage

In 2019, commercial road hauliers carried 550 million tonnes of goods, 0.2 percent more than in the previous year. This means they accounted for nearly 80 percent of the weight transported by Dutch lorries. Tonnage carried in domestic transport by commercial hauliers rose by 1 percent, while it was 5.4 percent down in international transport (to and from the Netherlands). Of each 100 tonnes of goods transported by commercial hauliers, 79 tonnes were carried within national borders.

Transport on own account - with goods transported by companies themselves - saw a sharp rise in 2019: 5.8 percent. This increase can also be attributed to more transport on Dutch territory (6.8 percent).

More domestic transport of construction materials

Since 2015, the rise in total domestic transport has mainly been due to increased haulage of construction materials. This type of transport was also up in 2019, by 1.3 percent. Construction materials take up over one-quarter in total domestic transport. However, in 2019 smaller quantities of sand, soil and gravel were transported. This decline was fully attributable to the final two quarters of 2019. Transport of sand and soil was still up by 10 percent in the first half of 2019.