Dutch road hauliers carried record weight in 2021

In 2021, Dutch lorries transported 572 million tonnes of goods (81.5 percent) within the Netherlands. The weight carried domestically increased by 2.4 percent year on year. Following a slight decrease in 2020, domestic haulage rose to its highest level ever. International road transport rose from 125 million tonnes in 2020 to nearly 130 million tonnes in 2021, i.e. a 3.5-percent increase.

Haulage of agricultural and food products further up

Agricultural goods and food products constitute 30.0 percent of the weight transported by Dutch lorries. In 2021, this type of transport was up by 4.4 percent year on year. The carriage of sand, crude minerals and building materials combined (accounting for one fifth of all transported goods) rose by 1.2 percent. Haulage of transport equipment, machinery and other goods such as general cargo grew by 6.5 percent and accounted for 30.6 percent of the total.

More goods carried abroad

In 2021, cross-border transport to and from the Netherlands rose by 3.7 percent year on year. This increase was almost entirely on account of outbound transportation (up by 6.2 percent). The tonnage of freight transported to France rose by 11.8 percent and to Belgium by 14.7 percent. Belgium was therefore the main foreign destination for Dutch hauliers in 2021, instead of Germany. The weight of goods carried into Germany remained virtually unchanged last year. Road haulage to the United Kingdom declined further, by 8.6 percent.
The volume of goods carried into the Netherlands increased slightly as well last year, by 0.9 percent.

More commercial haulage, transport on own account lagging behind

In 2021, Dutch commercial road hauliers transported 566 million tonnes of goods, 3.0 percent more than in the previous year. They accounted for 80.6 percent of the total weight carried by Dutch lorries. Transport on own account - with goods transported by companies themselves - rose by 0.9 percent to nearly 136 million tonnes in 2021.