How are goods transported through the Netherlands?
In 2020, a total of 1.7 billion tonnes of goods, packaging material included, were transported over Dutch territory and Dutch territorial waters. This is about the same weight as the water in 678 full Olympic swimming pools.
Most goods are carried by trucks in road haulage; in 2020, this amounted to 767 million tonnes, which is 45 percent of the total. Seagoing vessels accounted for a third of the transport at 558 million tonnes, while inland shipping contributed a fifth of transport at 338 million tonnes. Transport by rail and by air account for 2.0 and 0.1 percent respectively of goods transport through the Netherlands.
Four types of goods transport through the Netherlands
The goods transportnoot1 on Dutch territory consists of four flows. First, goods that are loaded and unloaded in the Netherlands (domestic transport: 675 million tonnes in 2020). Second, goods that are transported from the Netherlands to other countries (transport abroad: 427 million tonnes), goods that are transported from abroad to the Netherlands (supply from abroad: 539 million tonnes) and goods that are both loaded and unloaded abroad, but are transported across Dutch territory (transit: 60 million tonnes).
82 percent domestic transport by road
In 2020, 675 million tonnes of the 1.7 billion tonnes of goods transported over Dutch territory went to and from a location in the Netherlands. This domestic transport travelled 82 percent by road, with 554 million tonnes. Transport by inland shipping comes second with 116 million tonnes, which is 17 percent. Transport by rail follows with 3 million tonnes (0.4 percent) and last is transport by seagoing vessel with 2 million tonnes (0.3 percent).
| vervoer | Road haulage | Maritime transport | Inland shipping | Rail transport | Aviation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight carried over Dutch territory | 766.7 | 557.6 | 338.3 | 36.7 | 1.6 |
| Weight of domestic transport | 553.7 | 2.2 | 115.9 | 2.2 | 0.0 |
Over half is bulk transport
Over half of all goods transported through the Netherlands, i.e. 925 million tonnes, were transported in bulk unpackaged. These often involved raw materials such as petroleum, or agricultural products such as cereal. In addition, 14 percent of goods, this being 232 million tonnes, had been shipped in containers. These are usually finished products, e.g. packaged items, but also food products, agricultural products or chemical products. The rest was transported on pallets or involved cabled transport, for example.
Most goods transport to and from Groot-Rijnmond
In 2020, most goods that were being loaded or unloaded in the Netherlands, went from and to the regions of Groot-Rijnmond, Greater Amsterdam, West Noord-Brabant, Noordoost-Noord-Brabant, Overig Zeeland and Utrecht. The Groot-Rijnmond region had by far the most weight loaded and unloaded, namely 334 million tonnes loaded and 406 million tonnes unloaded. This region is home to the Port of Rotterdam. Second comes the Greater Amsterdam region, with the Amsterdam port, where 97 million tonnes had been loaded and 119 million tonnes unloaded.
This does not include transit (60 million tonnes), as this transport does not involve loading or unloading in the Netherlands. The goods can be transhipped after unloading to be transported to other countries within or outside Europe. The region where loading or unloading takes place therefore need not be the original starting point or final destination.
| Coropnaam | Gross weight loaded |
|---|---|
| Oost-Groningen | 6 |
| Delfzijlenomgeving | 11 |
| OverigGroningen | 13 |
| Noord-Friesland | 15 |
| Zuidwest-Friesland | 7 |
| Zuidoost-Friesland | 9 |
| Noord-Drenthe | 9 |
| Zuidoost-Drenthe | 10 |
| Zuidwest-Drenthe | 8 |
| Noord-Overijssel | 23 |
| Zuidwest-Overijssel | 7 |
| Twente | 22 |
| Veluwe | 26 |
| Achterhoek | 18 |
| Arnhem/Nijmegen | 29 |
| Zuidwest-Gelderland | 21 |
| Utrecht | 33 |
| KopvanNoord-Holland | 13 |
| Alkmaarenomgeving | 4 |
| IJmond | 11 |
| AgglomeratieHaarlem | 1 |
| Zaanstreek | 7 |
| Groot-Amsterdam | 97 |
| HetGooienVechtstreek | 2 |
| AgglomeratieLeidenenBollenstreek | 10 |
| Agglomeratie's-Gravenhage | 7 |
| DelftenWestland | 12 |
| Oost-Zuid-Holland | 14 |
| Groot-Rijnmond | 334 |
| Zuidoost-Zuid-Holland | 18 |
| Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen | 21 |
| OverigZeeland | 38 |
| West-Noord-Brabant | 49 |
| Midden-Noord-Brabant | 20 |
| Noordoost-Noord-Brabant | 38 |
| Zuidoost-Noord-Brabant | 31 |
| Noord-Limburg | 32 |
| Midden-Limburg | 15 |
| Zuid-Limburg | 30 |
| Flevoland | 24 |
| Coropnaam | Gross weight unloaded |
|---|---|
| Oost-Groningen | 6 |
| Delfzijlenomgeving | 11 |
| OverigGroningen | 18 |
| Noord-Friesland | 16 |
| Zuidwest-Friesland | 8 |
| Zuidoost-Friesland | 11 |
| Noord-Drenthe | 10 |
| Zuidoost-Drenthe | 9 |
| Zuidwest-Drenthe | 8 |
| Noord-Overijssel | 24 |
| Zuidwest-Overijssel | 7 |
| Twente | 21 |
| Veluwe | 30 |
| Achterhoek | 18 |
| Arnhem/Nijmegen | 27 |
| Zuidwest-Gelderland | 21 |
| Utrecht | 38 |
| KopvanNoord-Holland | 14 |
| Alkmaarenomgeving | 6 |
| IJmond | 7 |
| AgglomeratieHaarlem | 2 |
| Zaanstreek | 8 |
| Groot-Amsterdam | 119 |
| HetGooienVechtstreek | 5 |
| AgglomeratieLeidenenBollenstreek | 12 |
| Agglomeratie's-Gravenhage | 10 |
| DelftenWestland | 13 |
| Oost-Zuid-Holland | 14 |
| Groot-Rijnmond | 406 |
| Zuidoost-Zuid-Holland | 22 |
| Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen | 14 |
| OverigZeeland | 40 |
| West-Noord-Brabant | 50 |
| Midden-Noord-Brabant | 22 |
| Noordoost-Noord-Brabant | 38 |
| Zuidoost-Noord-Brabant | 33 |
| Noord-Limburg | 29 |
| Midden-Limburg | 16 |
| Zuid-Limburg | 23 |
| Flevoland | 20 |
Sources
StatLine – Goods transport; modes and flows of transport to and from the Netherlands
The questions
- How does CBS collect data?
- How much do we cycle per week on average?
- Who are most likely to work part-time?
- How many people visited Bonaire by cruise ship?
- Are people happy with the house they live in?
- How many young women encounter street harassment?
- What do the over-65s do online?
- How many wind turbines in the Netherlands?
- How far is school by bike?
- How many museums are there?
- How much electricity in the Caribbean Netherlands is renewable?
- How many adults are overweight?
- How many cargo ships dock at Dutch seaports?
- What did we listen to on the radio in 1953?
- What is the average lifespan in the Netherlands?
- Where did we go for a holiday in 1947?
- How much fish is landed?
- Where were people in the Netherlands born?
- What do we spend money on?
- How old are Dutch first-time mothers on average?
- How much cheese do we produce?
- How are goods transported through the Netherlands?
- How many people fall victim to cybercrime?
- What is the most spoken language or dialect at home?
- How many shops are there?
- What is the value of Dutch beer exports?
- How often do we have a goosebump moment?
- How many cows graze in fields?
- What are the most popular majors?
- How tall are Dutch people?
- How is the urban bird population doing?
- Where do most people work?
- What colour is our car?
- How does CBS handle your privacy?
Noten
Goods transport
Packaging material is included in the transported weight in this section. The figures therefore differ slightly from those on StatLine, which presents the gross-plus weight, i.e. the transported weight including packaging materials and the transport unit.