A fall in average vehicle loads

Average vehicle loads, after rising in 2007, began a sharp decline in 2008 which continued into early 2009 before a gradual recovery began. Two factors were behind this: a fall in construction activity for Europe as a whole; a faster decline in total international transport than in national transport in 2008 but with a faster recovery in 2010. Higher loads were reported for international transport than for national transport. Higher loads were also recorded by countries with heavy products, such as timber for Sweden or fruits and vegetables for Spain, or with a substantial international transport performance, such as Lithuania.

Most road freight transport falls in the middle distance band with journeys between 150 km and 999 km. In 2009, longer distance transport (over 1,000 km) was hit very hard by the economic crisis but recovered strongly in 2010. Short distance transport was also strongly affected in 2009 and declined again in 2010, a reflection of the weakness in the European construction sector. Empty running is twice as prevalent in national transport than in international transport. Between 2007 and 2010, the ratio of empty running vehicle-kilometres in the total fell by one percentage point, from 25% to 24%.