In 2023, maritime transportation solidified as the main method of transporting goods in the European Union, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the total volume of cargo moved. According to statistics recently published by Eurostat, maritime transport represented an astonishing 67.4% of all freight movement in terms of tonne-kilometers. Following in importance was road transport, which reached 25.3%, and rail transport, which contributed 5.5%. Meanwhile, both inland waterways and air transport showed significantly lower participation, at 1.6% and 0.2%, respectively.
Comparing these data to those from 2013 reveals an interesting trend, where road transport is the only method that has increased its share by 2.8 percentage points in the last decade. In contrast, maritime transport experienced a slight decrease of 2.0 points, while the share of rail and inland waterway transportation also decreased, by 0.2 and 0.6 percentage points, respectively.
The Eurostat report breaks down the situation by country, revealing that out of the 22 EU Member States with coastlines, maritime transport was the predominant mode for transporting goods in 15 of them. Surprisingly, ten of these countries exceeded 70% of the total cargo transported by sea. Portugal stood out as the undisputed leader in this regard, with an impressive 98.2% of its goods moved through maritime routes, followed by Cyprus and Greece with 96.5% and 96.4%, respectively.
In terms of land transportation, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, and Hungary stood at the forefront with over 70% of their cargoes transported by road. In particular, Luxembourg excelled with 84.5% of its cargo transported by this means. On the other hand, rail transport showed significant figures in several countries, with Lithuania leading at 31.7%, followed by Slovakia (30.1%), Austria (29.1%), and Slovenia (27.1%). Romania, on the other hand, was the country with the highest proportion of goods transported through inland waterways, reaching 18.9%.
In the realm of air transport, it remained a less used option, representing at least 1% of the total cargo in only seven countries. Romania stood out again in this category, leading with 1.6%, followed by Luxembourg (1.5%) and a group of nations like Hungary and Lithuania, which reported 1.3%.
These data are a clear reflection of the contemporary dynamics in the transport of goods within the European Union, highlighting the vital importance of maritime transport in the region’s international trade.
Source: MiMub in Spanish
