Less domestic road haulage in 2023

© CBS
In 2023, Dutch lorries carried a total weight of 642 million tonnes of goods. That was 7 percent less than in 2022, marking the lowest weight carried since 2015. This decline was mainly due to fewer goods being transported within the Netherlands. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of new figures.
The total weight of goods transported domestically decreased by 8.3 percent to 526 million tonnes last year. The total weight of goods transported internationally by Dutch hauliers fell by 0.9 percent to 116 million tonnes in 2023. This was down by 9.1 percent in 2022.

Weight transported by Dutch lorries
jaarDomestic (million tonnes)International (million tonnes)
2010520.9136.8
2011516.9140.9
2012497.4134.3
2013505.0137.1
2014503.1136.6
2015508.9132.6
2016528.4128.0
2017534.0131.9
2018547.8132.4
2019559.9128.9
2020558.8125.4
2021570.1129.2
2022573.3117.4
2023525.9116.3

Sharpest decline in transport of construction goods

In 2023, the transport of construction goods was down in particular. The transport of sand, gravel, building materials and other construction-related goods fell by 6.8 percent, from 140 million tonnes in 2022 to 123 million tonnes in 2023. The haulage of agricultural goods and other food products decreased by 5.3 percent in 2023.

Goods transported by Dutch road hauliers
GoederenNSTR2023 (million tonnes)2022 (million tonnes)2021 (million tonnes)
Agricultural and food products196.8207.8208.9
Sand, crude minerals and building materials123.3140.3141.2
Chemical products61.067.969.3
Metals and petroleum (products)36.036.338.0
Fertilisers23.227.327.8
Vehicles, machinery and
other (manufactured) goods		201.9211.0214.2

Transport between the Netherlands and Belgium declined further

Total weight transported to and from Belgium dropped by 2.3 million tonnes (5.9 percent). This decline is reflected in cross-border transport both to and from Belgium. Total weight transported to and from Germany increased by 1.6 percent, with outbound transport from Germany increasing more than inbound transport.

Weight transported by Dutch road hauliers, by country of origin or destination
Land2023 (million tonnes)2022 (million tonnes)2021 (million tonnes)
Germany41.640.946.3
Belgium37.139.442.0
France7.37.68.3
Other countries5.15.15.9

Commercial road haulage fallen more sharply

In 2023, Dutch commercial road hauliers transported over 519 million tonnes of goods, 7.5 percent less than in 2022. They accounted for 81 percent of the total weight carried by Dutch lorries. Transport on own account, in which goods are transported by businesses using their own vehicles, fell to 123 million tonnes in 2023, 5 percent down from the previous year.

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