Road transport accounted for a quarter or 25 per cent of freight transport at 1,863 billion tkm, while rail was 5 per cent at 410 billion tkm, inland waterway was 2 per cent at 136 billion tkm, and air was 0.2 per cent at 15 billion tkm transport, the Eurostat, EU’s statistical agency, said in a press release.
Maritime transport accounted for 68 per cent of EU’s freight transport in 2021, the lowest share in a decade, while road transport accounted for 25 per cent, the highest share in the same period. Rail transport accounted for 5 per cent, inland waterway 2 per cent, and air 0.2 per cent. The share of road and rail transport slightly increased compared to 2020.
Meanwhile, the share of road transport in 2021 reached the highest share recorded in the past decade. It increased slightly compared with 2020 at 1 pp and increased more significantly at 3pp compared with the year recording the lowest share in the last decade, which was 2012.
The share of rail transport also slightly increased in 2021 compared with 2020 at 0.2 pp but remained lower by -1pp compared with the year recording the highest share in the last decade, which was 2011.
Inland waterway transport has remained stable since 2018, but slightly lower than the peak recorded in 2013 at -1 pp. Air had the smallest share in freight transport and remained at 0.2 per cent in the last decade.
Maritime was the main mode of freight transport for 15 EU members in 2021 and accounted for more than 70 per cent of freight transport in 10 countries.
Meanwhile, road transport was the main mode of freight transport for 10 EU members and accounted for more than 70 per cent in three countries: Luxembourg at 84 per cent, Czechia at 77 per cent, and Poland at 70 per cent.
Rail freight transport was the main mode for only Lithuania at 53 per cent.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)
