DfT road freight statistics: HGV tonnage down 2% as more firms report driver vacancies
GB-registered HGVs lifted 1.55 billion tonnes in the UK in the year to June 2026 while covering 4% less distance. Among HGV businesses surveyed, 28% reported driver vacancies in the second quarter, up from 25% in the first.
The Department for Transport updated its domestic road freight statistics on 4 November 2026. The update covers July 2025 to June 2026 and includes HGV driver vacancy survey results. GB-registered HGVs operating in the UK lifted an estimated 1.55 billion tonnes of goods in the 12 months ending June 2026. That was 2% less than the 1.58 billion tonnes lifted in the 12 months ending June 2025.
Goods moved was 164.6 billion tonne kilometres. The DfT describes this as similar to the 165.0 billion tonne kilometres recorded a year earlier. Distance travelled fell 4%, from 19.2 billion to 18.5 billion kilometres. Average haul length rose 2%, from 104.5km to 106.3km. The DfT says this coincided with goods moved holding steady while tonnes lifted and distance travelled fell.
Empty running accounted for 29% of GB-registered HGV distance in the year to June 2026, or 5,321 million of 18,532 million kilometres. Over the latest three quarters it averaged 27%, compared with 30% over the preceding four years. The DfT cautions that these measures alone do not give a complete assessment of operational efficiency.
The first half of 2026 was stronger. From January to June 2026, 784 million tonnes were lifted, 2% more than the 768 million tonnes lifted in January to June 2025. Over a longer period, the DfT says domestic road freight has been broadly stable, with a very slight downward trend, since quarter 3 2021. That is the earliest data comparable after the survey moved online.
The freight figures are accredited official statistics. They cover UK-registered HGVs over 3.5 tonnes operating in the UK and exclude foreign-registered HGVs, vans and light goods vehicles. They are estimates from a weighted sample of 8,413 vehicles. Northern Ireland-registered HGVs are reported separately. They lifted 59.5 million tonnes within the UK in the year to June 2026, 11% less than the 66.7 million tonnes lifted a year earlier. The DfT notes that the smaller NI sample makes those estimates more variable.
Driver vacancies
In quarter 2 2026, 28% of HGV businesses responding to the DfT's domestic road haulage survey reported driver vacancies (629 of 2,218). The figure was 25% (616 of 2,424) in quarter 1 2026 and 26% (567 of 2,150) in quarter 2 2025. The figures show the share of businesses reporting vacancies, not the number of vacant posts. The survey's vacancy questions were added in October 2021 in response to the HGV driver shortage. Unlike the freight figures, these are official statistics but not accredited.
The three most common reasons given were the same as in quarter 1: existing drivers leaving the industry, better pay or benefits elsewhere, and driver retirement. About a third of businesses reported each one.
A quarter of businesses (548 of 2,218) said they had raised HGV driver wages in the preceding three months, up from 11% in quarter 1. The DfT notes that increases are common in quarter 2, as many organisations apply annual pay rises at the start of the financial year.
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