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Port freight annual statistics 2021: Route information and domestic waterborne freight

Published 27 July 2022

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Port freight trends by route

Total international traffic was unchanged in 2021 at 341.6 million tonnes, remaining 10% lower than 2019, whereas domestic traffic increased by 9% to 93.6 million tonnes and exceeded pre-pandemic levels. International traffic imports increased 3% but this was outweighed by an 8% decline in export tonnage, continuing the decline in export traffic since 2017.

Chart 9: Major port international freight by direction and domestic freight from 2000 to 2021 (PORT0205)

Domestic routes

Definitions

Coastwise: Traffic carried around the coast from one UK port to another, including domestic ferry services. Figures are double-counted in the port freight data for this type of traffic. For example, data of a shipment from Liverpool to Belfast is collected from both Liverpool’s and Belfast’s perspectives (one being an inwards, the other record being an outward voyage).

One-port: Traffic to and from offshore locations such as oil rigs and sea dredging.

Trends in tonnage traffic

Since 2012, tonnage carried on domestic routes continues to account for around 20% of all traffic handled by UK major ports, totalling 93.6 million tonnes in 2021. Domestic tonnage increased by 9% compared to 2020, with coastwise traffic making up 80% of domestic tonnage in 2021.

Chart 10: Domestic traffic by type, 2000 to 2021 (PORT0499)

Increases were seen across all cargo groups, except container traffic which saw a decrease of 16% between 2020 and 2021, and is now 28% lower than 2019, in contrast to the slight increase seen in international traffic. Southampton was the largest handler of domestic Lo-Lo traffic in 2020 but saw a 54% decrease, accounting for 70% of the overall decrease seen in domestic Lo-Lo traffic, bringing its ranking down to second under Liverpool in 2021.

Other general cargo saw the greatest relative increase of 21% from 2020 in terms of tonnage handled, with iron and steel products traffic increasing by 98% within this category. Dry bulk also saw a substantial increase of 19% when compared with 2020, in accordance with the 10% increase seen across all world regions. Whilst the trend for liquid bulk was flat overall, liquefied gas fell 63%. London, the second largest handler of domestic traffic, saw an 18% increase in dry bulk handled, however liquid bulk also saw a 100% increase, albeit from a lower base, to its highest level since 2012.

In 2021, 74.7 million tonnes of domestic traffic was coastwise, increasing 8% compared with 2020. From 2005 to 2017, coastwise traffic broadly declined, mainly as a result of a fall in liquid bulk traffic, but from 2017 to 2021, the trend has remained relatively level (PORT0706). The increase of 5.8 million tonnes seen in 2021 was largely driven by a 13% increase in Ro-Ro non-self propelled traffic, with Liverpool and Heysham seeing the largest increases in this cargo group. This is likely to be related to changes in behaviour on routes between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland following the UK’s exit from the European Union, discussed in further detail below under unitised traffic.

Liquid bulk and dry bulk also saw increases of 1.4 million and 1.7 million tonnes of coastwise traffic respectively. The increase in liquid bulk brings tonnage up to 1% below 2019 levels and mirrors increased demand for crude oil and oil products after a dip in 2020 (see BEIS statistics).

One-port tonnage saw an increase of 11% in 2021 to 18.9 million tonnes, the highest level since 2018. One-port tonnage consists of traffic to and from offshore locations including sea dredging and oil rigs. Crude oil one-port tonnage has declined considerably since 2000; the reduction in North Sea oil and gas production is likely to have been a contributory factor. One-port crude oil tonnage again fell by over a million tonnes in 2021 compared to 2020.

In 2021, Belfast remained the UK port that handles the most domestic traffic (13.1 million tonnes).

Chart 11: Top 10 UK major ports by domestic tonnage, 2021 (PORT0499)

Trends in unitised traffic

Domestic unitised traffic increased by 29% in 2021 compared with 2020, with self-propelled Ro-Ro traffic increasing by 46% to 2.1 million units. Lo-Lo units, however, decreased by 3% to the lowest level since 2004, reflecting the tonnage trend for Lo-Lo traffic.

Main freight unitised traffic, which consists of all Lo-Lo and Ro-Ro units which can carry freight, increased by 12% in 2021, rising by 240,000 units. This trend mirrors the decrease of 242,000 units in main freight traffic to the Republic of Ireland seen in 2021. According to the Irish Maritime Development Office, Ro-Ro services at Republic of Ireland ports had historically been utilised by many Northern Irish hauliers wishing to access markets in the midlands and southeast of England. From early 2021, haulage companies based in Northern Ireland had transferred some traffic away from Ro-Ro services in Republic of Ireland in order to avoid the new customs requirements involved between Ireland and UK ports.

Chart 12: Irish republic and domestic coastwise trends, 2000 to 2021 (PORT0499)

Domestic waterborne freight

About domestic waterborne freight

Domestic waterborne freight covers freight moved by water in the UK and includes traffic on inland waterways in addition to coastwise and one port traffic. These are based on analysis of the port freight statistics and inland waterway movements collected from barge operators and minor ports. In contrast to the domestic figures above, coastwise traffic between two ports is only counted in one direction, and international traffic which travels on inland waters is included. Figures in this section are not directly comparable to the rest of the annual release.

For further information regarding the figures in this section, see the domestic waterborne technical note. Data tables for domestic waterborne freight can be found in the PORT07 section.

Definitions

Inland waterways traffic is movement of freight on a ship or barge along one of British inland waterways, such as rivers or canals. Where coastwise or one-port traffic is handled by a port classified as being on inland waters (for example, on a river) this is also included in the inland waters within this section.

Goods moved is a metric used for freight traffic. It is the tonnage of goods lifted multiplied by the distance travelled, expressed as tonne-kilometres. For foreign traffic, distance is counted to the smooth water boundary only.

Water transport accounts for a relatively small share of domestic goods moved across all modes (where road dominates), around 14% of goods moved and 6% of goods lifted, based on data for 2020 published in Transport Statistics Great Britain (TSGB0401).

The total amount of goods lifted by water within the UK increased by 5% to 91.7 million tonnes in 2021. Goods moved traffic, however, decreased by 2%, to 24.2 billion tonne-kilometres (bt-k), the lowest level since the series began in 2001. This decrease was largely driven by a 19% fall in one-port goods moved traffic, from 2020. Milford Haven and Forth accounted for 73% of the fall in one-port goods moved traffic, with a combined decrease in one-port crude oil moved of 1.1 bt-k.

Chart 13: Domestic waterborne freight goods moved and lifted, 2021 (PORT0701)

Chart Note: Coastwise and one port traffic which travels on inland waterways is counted twice in the above figures (so total goods lifted is less than the sum of the three individual categories).

Goods moved follow similar proportions to goods lifted for cargo category splits. In terms of goods moved, liquid bulk traffic remains the most transported cargo type along domestic waterborne routes (41%) in 2021, followed by dry bulk (35%), consistent with last year. Despite the declining trend in liquid bulk since 2000 associated with the decline in North Sea oil, the majority of the liquid bulk cargo continues to come from crude oil and oil products. Unitised traffic (Ro-Ro and Lo-Lo) accounted for 14% of all tonne-kilometres, decreasing 1 percentage point from last year.

Chart 14: Domestic waterborne freight goods moved by cargo group, 2021 (PORT0702)

Inland waters traffic overall accounts for 6% of domestic waterborne freight traffic measured by goods moved. This traffic can be carried by barges or seagoing vessels on inland waterways. Of the navigable waterways, the Thames handled the most domestic traffic in the UK, accounting for over half (57%) of all goods moved by inland waterway in 2021 (PORT0705). In terms of goods lifted, the River Thames handled around 22.5 million tonnes of freight (50% of all total traffic on UK waterways - table PORT0704), 10% more than in 2020.

Chart 15: Domestic waterborne freight goods moved by waterway, 2021 (PORT0705)

International Freight

Chart 16: International freight tonnage by route, 2021 (PORT0204)

In 2021:

• overall international traffic remained at similar levels from 2020 but regions show different trends
• traffic with ports in the European Union accounted for 54% of all international tonnage traffic, slightly declining from 2020,
• other Europe and Mediterranean traffic saw the largest absolute increase from 2020, up 6.8 million tonnes.

Short Sea

Definitions

Short sea Maritime traffic that moves cargo along a coast without having to cross an ocean. This consists of European Union (EU) and ‘Other Europe and Mediterranean’ (Extra-EU) countries.

Short sea traffic saw a slight overall increase on 2020 of 1%, imported traffic increased by 10% and exports declined by 7% in short sea traffic. The cargo group breakdown for short sea trade largely follows the national picture, accounting for similar proportions of tonnage in each cargo group. Cargo group trends also mostly follow the national trend, apart from liquid bulk which increased by 1% compared to an all routes decline of 2%. Short sea container traffic saw a greater increase (10%) compared to the 2% increase seen nationally. Self-propelled Ro-Ro (such as passenger cars, import vehicles and heavy good vehicles) saw a greater decline in unitised short sea Ro-Ro of 12% compared to the national 2% decline.

France accounted for 27% of all unitised short sea Ro-Ro traffic in 2021, the majority of which was self-propelled. France saw the largest decline in self-propelled Ro-Ro of all short sea partner countries, accounting for 71% of the total short sea decline of Ro-Ro seen in 2021.

The Netherlands also accounted for a large amount of short sea unitised Ro-Ro traffic (22%), the majority of which was non self-propelled. The Netherlands was the top partner country for both inwards and outwards tonnage traffic, handling a total of 58 million tonnes, 23% of all short sea traffic.

All cargo groups for short sea increased in tonnage in 2021 except for Ro-Ro which saw a 9% decline in tonnage traffic. France and the Republic of Ireland contributed most to this decline, accounting for 80% of the total Ro-Ro tonnage decline across short sea routes. As discussed in the Ro-Ro section of the cargo information article, this could be related to a decline in demand for the landbridge as a route to and from the EU following the UK’s exit from the European Union. See Irish Maritime Development Office Quarterly Statistics for more information.

Deep Sea

Definitions

Deep sea Maritime traffic that crosses oceans. This consists of countries in Africa, America, Asia and Australasia. Mediterranean countries are classed under short sea in the port freight series.

Deep sea traffic saw an overall decrease of 3% to 94.8 million tonnes, following a 19% decline in 2020. There was a decline in imports (-5%) and a very slight increase in exported traffic (+1%). This trend goes against the national trend which saw an increase in inwards traffic and decrease in exports.

Given the long distances involved in deep sea traffic, it consists of a higher proportion of containers (30%) and the proportion of Ro-Ro traffic on these routes is very small (1%), compared to short sea traffic. Both short and deep sea handle liquid bulk most over any other cargo type. The decline in deep sea traffic in 2021 was driven mostly by liquid bulk, which decreased 4.8 million tonnes from 2020. This was more than the national decline of 3.7 million tonnes, as short sea liquid bulk increased in 2021.

USA was the country handling the most liquid bulk to and from the UK of all deep sea countries, with 19.1 million tonnes in 2021, accounting for 49% of liquid bulk handled on deep sea routes. Liquid bulk from USA has slightly increased by 3% from 2020, so does not account for the deep sea decline. Liquid bulk moved between the UK and ports in Qatar declined by 2.9 million tonnes in 2021, accounting for 61% of the total deep sea liquid bulk decline, 2.7 million of this decline was liquefied gas. Qatar was the largest import source to the UK, accounting for 40% of liquefied natural gas imports. As discussed in the liquid bulk section of the cargo information article, due to low global availability and a subsequent spike in spot prices there has been a sharp drop in UK liquefied natural gas imports (for more detail on liquefied natural gas go to BEIS Energy Trends).

Deep sea containers saw a decline of 1.2 million tonnes, where the national trend was up 1.2 million tonnes from 2020, this decline in deep sea and increase in short sea container traffic in the past two years is discussed further in the containers section of the cargo information article. Malaysia, USA and India saw the greatest declines in container tonnage traffic, declining by 28%, 18% and 16% respectively. For unitised containers these countries remained at similar level to 2020 overall.

Container units for deep sea increased along with the national trend. China drove this trend with the largest increase of all deep sea countries (17% increase on 2020), mostly consisting of 40’ freight containers.

Cargo being carried in and out of the UK to deep sea countries, in Asia, America, Australasia and Africa, may have declined in tonnage but has increased in units as less is being carried per container or there are more empty containers. This trend is most likely driven by traffic to Asia, which saw the largest decline in container tonnage traffic of deep sea regions, and the greatest increase in unitised traffic. China accounted for 47% of container units alone in 2021, followed by Singapore which accounts for 8%.

Background Information

The tables give further detail of the key results presented in this statistical release. They are available here: port and domestic waterborne freight statistics.

These notes provide further information such as definitions and a list of UK ports is available. For information on the domestic waterborne freight data and how it’s collected see this technical note. The background quality report provides further information on how the data is collected, quality assured and comparisons with relevant data sources.

The port freight statistics are National Statistics. This means they are produced to high professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure they meet customer needs. These statistics were designated as National Statistics in February 2013. The continued designation was confirmed in December 2018.

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