In 2017, Dutch lorries transported 1.5 percent more goods than they had one year earlier. A total of 666 million tonnes of goods arrived at their destination by road. More goods were transported, both within the national borders (a 1.1 percent increase) and in international road transport to and from the Netherlands (an increase of 3.5 percent). International road transport to and from the Netherlands, also known as bilateral transport, expanded again in 2017 after two years of contraction. Bilateral transport accounts for almost 80 percent of all international road transport carried out by Dutch lorries.

The transport sector generated 4.6 percent more turnover in 2017 than a year earlier. This was the largest increase in turnover since 2009. The freight brokers and road hauliers, the two largest branches of the transport sector, made a major contribution to this rise, with 6.2 percent and 6.1 percent revenue growth respectively. Courier services showed the strongest recovery, to achieve an increase in turnover of 6.9 percent.

Airlines transported over 1.8 million tonnes of goods to and from the Netherlands in 2017. That is 6.8 percent more than in the previous year. Almost all air freight is routed via Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (95 percent). The remainder, a total of 87,000 tonnes, was transported solely via Maastricht Aachen Airport. China and the United States are the main partner countries for the Netherlands. Over 30 percent of all air freight goes to or comes from one of these countries.

Freight transport by rail took a tumble for the first time in 2017 after four years on the rise. The transported weight decreased by 3.3 percent to 41 million tonnes. This development was largely due to dwindling exports: the transported weight from the Netherlands to other countries fell by 9.1 percent. Rail imports to the Netherlands rose by 2.2 percent. Rail transport in which the Netherlands fulfils the role of transit country, experienced the greatest growth. Compared to 2016, the transited weight rose by 43 percent.

In 2017, inland vessels carried 366 million tonnes of goods, an increase of 1.2 percent on the previous year. This growth was mainly accounted for by container transport, with cargo weight increasing by 6.4 percent. The biggest increase was achieved in import and export. Almost 10 percent more container goods were transported to and from the Netherlands. In bulk transport, the mainstay of inland shipping with a share of 86 percent, the tonnages transported increased by a modest 0.4 percent in 2017. Bulk transport mainly takes the form of coal, ores, coke and refined petroleum products.

In 2017, a total of 596 million tonnes of goods were processed by Dutch seaports, 1.2 percent up on 2016. As with inland shipping, this growth was almost entirely accounted for by container transport. Compared to the previous year, in 2017 the transhipment of container goods increased by 13 percent to 124 million tonnes. Almost half (46 percent) of all transhipment in Dutch seaports consisted of wet bulk goods (primarily crude oil and petroleum products). The transhipment of these goods fell by 3 percent. Over three-quarters of all goods loaded or unloaded in Dutch seaports were handled in the Port of ​​Rotterdam.