What do we see?
In the period between 2010 and 2017, there was a 19% increase in the total number of freight transport vehicles. This rise, which could be related to economic development, was mainly due to a 25% growth in the number of vans. The number of trucks and lorry cabins remained more stable with a decrease of around 7% and an increase of around 3%, respectively. By 2017, the number of vans was almost 7 times higher than the number of trucks and around 13 times higher than the number of lorry cabins.
What’s the aim?
In a circular economy, we aim to reduce material consumption, which – for freight transport – comes down to a reduction in the number of vehicles. Since the number of trucks is related to economic development, reducing the number of vehicles could be achieved by either increasing the use intensity (decreasing idle time), improving the load efficiency (avoiding too many empty trucks on the road), or – if feasible – working on a modal split towards rail or shipping.
What does this indicator measure?
This indicator gives an idea of the number of freight vehicles, as a total and per category, and is based on the data published up to 2017 by the Federal Public Service Mobility & Transport. All vans, trucks and lorry cabins registered in the Flemish region are included in the data.
