1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198 
A quarter century of hauling freight
Page 18
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
DfT figures highlight transport trends since 1980, and point to future developments. Chris Tindall reports.
Margins are shrinking and costs are spiralling to stellar heights; as a result, operators continue to maximise their loads while seeking more efficient ways of hauling freight, according to the latest government figures.
Since 1980 the average length of haul for road freight has jumped 3 l % to 87km. Simultaneously, there has been a fall in the share of goods, such as bulk products, that travel shorter distances.
The Department for Transport (EMT) says artics are carrying an increasing proportion of freight, and on average they carry goods twice as far as rigids.
Compare these figures with the state of rail freight, which has declined by 34% during the same period. Despite the government's best efforts to encourage the movement of freight onto the railways, rail freight now accounts for just 5% of goods lifted, compared with 9% in 1980.
Distribution patterns According to liyin.sporr Trends 2005, the total weight of goods lifted has risen by 25% since 1980, when, the DtT says, changes in distribution patterns and the types of goods lifted began.The majority of this increase has been handled by road transport, which accounts for 83% of freight moved — a total of 1.831 million tonnes a year.
The report also suggests that economic and traffic growth have been "uncoupled" since 1980. During the eighties the economy and goods vehicle traffic grew at the same rate, but since 1990 road freight and goods vehicle traffic have risen more slowly than GDP, probably due to the UK's shrinking manufacturing base.
In addition, "LGV tonne kilometres per GDP"has fallen by less than "LGV vehicle kilometres per GDP" since 1980, because of the increase there has been in average truck payloads.
A INT spokesman says: "As average payload [tonnes carried per journey has been increasing, tonne kilometres will increase at a greater rate than vehicle kilometres. Both measures have increased more slowly than GDP and have therefore fallen relative to GDP, but tonne kilometres per GDP has fallen by less."
Further insight into the state of the country's roads is provided by another report from the DtT. Transport Statistics Bulletin: Traffic in Great Britain Q4 2005. This reveals that goods vehicle traffic fell by 2% between the fourth quarter of 2004 and the same period in 2005. Car traffic fell by 1%. but light vans increased by 5%.
Traffic on motorways has grown more than on any other type of road over the past 10 years — but between 2004 and 2005, when the increase was 1%. it was matched by a 1% rise on minor roads. •