A total of 529,000t of livestock was transported on Irish roads between January and March this year, according to figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (Tuesday, August 23).
The CSO’s Road Freight Transport Survey for the first quarter (Q1) of 2022 shows that carriage of livestock amounted to 293,000t during the same period last year, 366,000t in 2020, and 327,000t in 2019.
Goods of 40.8 million tonnes were transported on Irish roads in total during Q1 this year, up 19% compared to the same period last year, and up 11% on 2019 figures.
Almost 1.5 million tonnes of fertilisers and feeding stuffs were carried to farms during Q1 this year, compared to 1.9 million tonnes in 2021, and 2.1 million tonnes and 1.7 million tonnes in 2020 and 2019 respectively.
Slightly over 1.5 million tonnes of other farm produce were carried in Q1 2022, compared to 1.7 million tonnes last year; 1.4 million tonnes in 2020; and 1.4 million tonnes in 2019.
Road freight transport
While CSO figures include Irish-registered vehicles that belong to the motor taxation class ‘goods vehicles’, vehicles in other motor taxation classes such as agricultural tractors, general haulage tractors and dumpers are not considered.
The largest amount of work undertaken by vehicles in Q1 2022 was the delivery of goods to road works or building sites at 16.8 million tonnes, according to the CSO.
Quarry products, metal ores and peat accounted for almost 30% of all tonnes carried, while the total distance covered by road freight transport amounted to 468 million kilometres.
Last year, the total distance covered by road freight transport stood at 417 million kilometres, with commodity groups “foodstuffs” and “other goods” accounting for most.
The CSO notes that the Covid-19 pandemic could impact the yearly comparison of data, as Ireland experienced restrictions during the first three months last year.