The UK economy's reliance on road freight
- The UK’s economy is increasingly centred on services and home deliveries: recent developments in freight transport refl ect this. Van traffi c has seen substantial growth in recent years, increasing by 40 per cent between 1996 and 2006
- All Western European countries depend heavily on road freight. Eighty two per cent of the UK’s freight moves by road, 70 per cent in Belgium, 64 per cent in Germany compared to 75 per cent in France, 87 per cent in Italy, 93 per cent in Spain
Lorries are an effi cient and fl exible method of delivering consumer goods to the point of sale. Each lorry load of goods arriving at a supermarket will be taken away by approximately 400 cars
Source: www.incpen.org
- Lgvs are not as prevalent on the UK’s roads as is often perceived. One in 18 vehicles on the UK’s major roads is an lgv and one in nine vehicles is a van
The number of lorries using the motorway network reaches a peak in October and November each year. The quietest month for lgvs on the motorway network is December. The busiest day of the week for lgvs on the motorway is Thursday (closely followed by Wednesday). The quietest day overall is Sunday
Source of traffic data: Transport Statistics Great Britain 2007, Road traffic statistics 2006
- Lgv fuel effi ciency has steadily improved. An articulated lorry today typically returns a fuel consumption of 8mpg; in 1993 the average fi gure was 6.9mpg (FTA Manager’s Guide to Distribution Costs)
- Lgvs are being used more intensively. In 1982 empty running accounted for a third of all lgv mileages, today it is just over a quarter (Transport Statistics GB 2007)
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