Dutch trucks transported fewer goods in 2020. The 0.4 per cent drop was mainly caused by decrease in international goods road transport, reports CBS. The volume of goods transported within the Netherlands did increase, however.
A total of 686 million tonnes were transported by Dutch trucks, 0.4 per cent less than in 2019. The last time there was a decline was in 2014.
Agricultural goods and other food products accounted for 30 per cent of the total weight transported, up 0.3 per cent from a year earlier. The transport of sand, gravel and building materials, accounting for over a fifth of all goods transported, rose 2.6 per cent. Transport of petroleum products and fertilisers also rose. Road transport of goods such as ores, steel, chemical products and general cargo fell 4.6 per cent in 2020.
Fewer goods from the Netherlands to foreign countries
Cross-border transported weight (from and to the Netherlands) decreased by 1 per cent in 2020 compared to a year earlier. This drop was caused by transport sent from the Netherlands to foreign countries (-3.6 per cent). To the UK, the weight transported by Dutch trucks fell by 12.7 per cent. To France it was 9.7 per cent and to Belgium 5.8 per cent. To Germany, the main foreign destination of Dutch trucks, the weight transported increased by 0.6 per cent. The volume of goods transported from abroad to the Netherlands did increase in 2020, by 2.1 per cent.
Read also: Transport and logistics on the rise again in 2021
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