1. Introduction

1.1 This chapter provides information about road freight, such as the amount of goods lifted in Scotland by road by origin and destination, the lengths of haul, the destinations within the UK and Europe, and the types of commodity lifted within the UK with a Scottish origin or destination.

1.2 There have been several changes to the tables in this chapter, and the table numbers differ from those in previous editions of "Scottish Transport Statistics". Two new tables have been added:-

Table 3.2 Goods lifted by road in Scotland, with destinations within the UK, by length of haul.

Table 3.7 Average freight lifted by road per year: Journeys with UK origins and destinations which either started or ended in Scotland.

1.3 In addition, some tables which, in previous editions, gave figures for road freight to or from other parts of Great Britain now relate to other parts of the United Kingdom. Therefore, these figures are on a different basis from those in previous editions.

2. Main Points

2.1 In 1997, over 140 million tonnes of goods were lifted within Scotland and transported to destinations within Scotland. About 16.3 million tonnes of goods from Scotland were delivered to destinations elsewhere in the UK, and around 20.6 million tonnes were brought into Scotland from elsewhere in the UK. In comparison, the volume of international traffic is very small: under 1 million tonnes in 1996 (the latest year for which figures are available). (Table 3.1)

2.2 The total amount of goods lifted in Scotland in 1997 (around 157 million tonnes) was lower than the 162 million tonnes in 1996, but was slightly higher than the average for the previous ten years (155 million tonnes). Over this period, the total has usually been close to this average, with occasional years having unusually low levels. The total tonnage transported to or from other parts of the UK in 1997 was higher than in any of the previous ten years. (Table 3.1)

2.3 Most road freight journeys are under 50 kilometres in length: 40% of goods lifted by road in Scotland are carried a distance of no more than 25 kilometres, and 21% travel over 25 km but no more than 50 km. The average length of haul is 77 km. (Table 3.2)

2.4 Of the 16.3 million tonnes of goods lifted by road leaving Scotland for the rest of UK, 73% were destined for the three northernmost regions of England - North, Yorkshire and Humberside, and North West. In 1997, of the 20.6 million tonnes of goods lifted by road from the rest of the UK into Scotland, 76% of goods came from these regions. (Table 3.3)

2.5 In 1997, "Minerals and building materials" was the largest single category of goods lifted in Scotland which remained in Scotland, accounting for over 49 million tonnes out of the total of 141 million tonnes, slightly ahead of "Machinery, transport equipment, manufactured articles and miscellaneous" with just over 36 million tonnes. The latter was the largest single category of goods carried to and from other parts of the UK. (Table 3.4)

2.6 In 1996 UK registered road hauliers carried 616,000 tonnes of goods from Scotland to mainland Europe and 258,000 tonnes from mainland Europe into Scotland. Of goods leaving Scotland for Europe, carried by UK road hauliers, 37% went to France, 16% to Netherlands, 13% to Germany, and 11% to Spain. For goods entering Scotland from Europe, carried by UK road hauliers, 26% came from Netherlands, 21% from France, and around 14% and 12% from Italy and Spain. (Table 3.5)

2.7 Foodstuffs continue to be the highest volume of identified commodities (i.e. excluding machinery, transport etc, which includes miscellaneous) leaving Scotland for destinations outwith the UK, and Scotland provided 19% of the volume of foodstuff leaving the UK. (Table 3.6)

2.8 Around 40% of the average freight lifted per year in Scotland originated in the former Strathclyde region, 13% originated in Grampian, and 12% in Lothian. Similarly around 40% of the average freight lifted per year in Scotland was destined for Strathclyde, 14% destined for Grampian and 13% destined for Lothian. Generally, the majority of the freight lifted in a region was delivered to a destination within that region. (Table 3.7)

3. Notes and Definitions

3.1 Origin and destination: these refer to the origins and destinations of the trips that were recorded in the surveys. These are not necessarily the ultimate origins and destinations of the goods (a trip on a vehicle which was in the sample may represent only one stage in the journey of a consignment: goods may have been trans-shipped on a number of occasions).

3.2 Entering Scotland and leaving Scotland: goods are classified on the basis of the origin and the destination of the trip: for example, a trip is counted as "entering Scotland" if the origin is outwith Scotland and the destination is within Scotland. It follows that trips which are made via Scotland, such as trips between Northern Ireland and England, are counted neither as "entering Scotland" nor as "leaving Scotland", because neither the origin nor the destination is within Scotland.

3.3 Remaining in Scotland: goods for which both the origin and the destination of the trip are within Scotland (they may, of course, leave Scotland on a later trip).

3.4 Length of haul: this information relates to individual vehicle trips, and not to the total distance that the goods may have travelled.

3.5 Goods lifted: these represent the total weight of goods loaded (in tonnes), and take no account of the distance for which the goods are carried. In cases where goods which had been carried on one HGV are later loaded onto another HGV, they will be counted as being lifted twice.

3.6 Tonne-kilometres: these provide a measure of the total amount of work done, and are calculated for each loaded journey by multiplying the weight of the load by the distance for which it is carried.

3.7 Average length of haul: this is the total number of vehicle-kilometres divided by the total number of trips. The average length of haul weighted for tonnage is the total tonne-kilometres divided by the total tonnes lifted.

4. Sources

4.1 Statistics of freight lifted and moved by road are provided by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), which obtains them from two sample surveys.

4.2 Road freight traffic within the UK

4.2.1 Information about domestic road freight traffic is obtained from DETR's Continuing Survey of Roads Goods Transport. This collects details of the journeys that were made by a sample of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs: vehicles over 3.5 tonnes gross weight). HGVs account for an estimated 95% of road freight activity, the rest being carried by small commercial vehicles of up to 3.5 tonnes gross weight.

4.2.2 Each week, a number of HGVs are randomly selected from the computer records of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (and the corresponding Northern Ireland body). The sample is stratified by vehicle type, and (within vehicle type) spread evenly over a number of geographical areas, in order that the survey will produce reasonably accurate estimates for each category of vehicle, and for each of the geographical areas. A questionnaire is sent to each selected vehicle's registered keeper, asking for information about the vehicle, and about every trip that it made in a sample week. The sample weeks are spread evenly across the year.

4.2.3 The origins and destinations are reported in the survey as (eg) the names of towns. DETR uses a computer "gazetteer" to check the lengths of the routes between these places, and to determine the appropriate Region or Island Area for each Scottish origin and destination (the origins and destinations are not recorded in terms of the new Council areas, because the gazetteer does not identify these).

4.2.4 The results of the survey are "grossed-up" to produce estimates which represent the total road freight carried during the year as a whole, by all HGVs. This is done quarterly, in two stages. First, the sample vehicles' results are "grossed up" to the whole HGV "population" using the ratio of the average number of HGVs in the stratum (from the DVLA and NI records) to the number for which survey results are available (the "average number of HGVs in the stratum" is the average of the number in the stratum at the start of the quarter and the number at the end of the quarter). Then the results are multiplied by 13, to raise the activity in the sampled week to an estimate for the whole of the quarter.

4.2.5 On average, the survey collects information for about 2,600 Scottish-based vehicles per year, or about 50 Scottish vehicles per week. A very general rule-of-thumb for this survey is that estimates which are based upon around 1,000 HGV-weeks have a 95% confidence interval of about +/- 10%. Therefore, the annual sample is too small for detailed analysis of the estimates for Scotland for a single year, and so the table which shows the estimated flows of freight to and from the former Regions of Scotland was produced by combining the results from several years' surveys.

4.3 International road freight traffic

4.3.1 The international road freight traffic statistics are derived from DETR's Continuous International Road Haulage Survey which covers a sample of UK-registered heavy goods vehicles (HGVs: over 3.5 tonnes gross weight). Work by foreign-registered vehicles, and the transport of goods in unaccompanied trailers, is outwith the scope of the survey. Other EU countries are responsible for monitoring the international movements of their own vehicles.

4.3.2 The survey covers trips using roll-on/roll-off ferries and the Channel Tunnel to serve origins and destinations located in continental Europe and in the Republic of Ireland, where the driver accompanies the vehicle throughout the journey. Trailers, when unaccompanied on the ferry crossing (or Channel Tunnel trip), are treated as domestic traffic when hauled to or from a UK port (or Channel Tunnel terminal). If the trailer is subsequently picked up by a foreign vehicle, that leg of the journey will be recorded in the statistics of the country in which the vehicle is registered. These statistics therefore exclude traffic which is carried in unaccompanied trailers, or in foreign-registered vehicles.

4.3.3 Each UK haulier is asked to provide details of a sample of international trips by its HGVs: all those which leave the UK on a specified day or days (chosen in advance). Details of each trip are required, in those cases where a vehicle starts two (or more) international trips within the specified period. The sample covers about 4% of all trips.

4.3.4 The survey results are "grossed-up" in two stages, using information provided each quarter by the ferry and Channel Tunnel operators about the total number of UK-registered HGVs recorded on each route. First, the survey results for each ferry route and the Channel Tunnel are grossed-up separately, using each route's ratio of the number of UK HGVs using that route (as reported by the operator) to the number in the survey. Then, the resulting totals are grossed-up further, using the quarter's grand total of all UK-registered HGVs for all ferry routes and the Channel Tunnel, to allow for traffic on any routes which did not happen to have any vehicles in the sample in that quarter. It should be noted that the results do not include any estimates of the total amount of goods carried over the Irish land boundary, because there are no overall totals for the total number of HGVs which cross that boundary.

5. Further Information

5.1 Further information on GB road freight statistics can be found in the annual DETR publications "Transport of Goods by Road in Great Britain", "International Road Haulage by United Kingdom Registered Vehicles" and "Transport Statistics Great Britain".

5.2 For further information on road freight statistics contact Mr Paul Robson, Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (Tel: 0171 890 4442).