International road freight activity: new data underlines sudden effects of recession

New data from the Department for Transport (DfT) shows that international road freight activity between Great Britain and continental Europe fell dramatically in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Activity by UK registered vehicles was down by 18 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2007. Movements by foreign vehicles were down by 10 per cent. Unaccompanied trailer traffic (much of which transits the North Sea) also fell by 18 per cent.

The sharp downturn in activity occurred in the fourth quarter. As a result, year on year changes in traffic volumes are less pronounced. However, the fall in UK traffic meant that activity for the year was lower than it was in 1992 before Europe became a single market.

Despite the recession, activity by hauliers based in Eastern Europe has continued to increase rapidly.The largest rise in activity was recorded by carriers based in Romania and Bulgaria (countries which came into EU membership in 2007). In both cases traffic by hauliers based in these states more than doubled during 2008. However, there was also strong growth in activity by carriers based in Poland (up 25 per cent). Polish vehicles now represent the largest number of foreign vehicles on UK roads (15 of all traffic).