REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2012 on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods by road
Date: 2024-01-16
Institutions: European Commission, Eurostat
Subjects: EU Member State, EU statistics, application of EU law, carriage of goods, data collection, road transport, sample survey, transport statistics

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 16.1.2024  COM(2024) 9 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2012 on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods by road   
 
 
1 

INTRODUCTION 

1.1 

AIM OF THE REPORT 

Article 7 of  Regulation (EU) No 70/2012  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of 
18 January 2012 on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of  goods by road 1 specifies that the 
Commission  must  submit  a  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council  on  the 
implementation  of  the  Regulation  and  on  future  developments  by  31 December 2014  and  every  3 
years after that. This present report is the fourth report that fulfils this requirement. 

The first section of this report outlines the background, policy context and coverage of the Regulation. 
The  second  section  describes  its  implementation  by  the  Member  States  and  the  Commission 
(Eurostat), the Member States’ burden and costs regarding data collection, methodological and data-
quality  issues,  and  the  various  means  of  publishing  road  freight  transport  statistics.  The  last  two 
sections refer to possible future developments of road freight transport statistics and provide the main 
conclusions of the report. 

1.2 

BACKGROUND OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 

Regulation (EU) No 70/2012  is  a  recast  of  Council  Regulation (EC) No 1172/98  of 25 May 1998  on 
statistical  returns  in  respect  of  the  carriage  of  goods  by  road 2  and  marks  a  step  forward  in  the 
development of transport statistics in the EU. It is the legal basis for collecting a wide range of data on 
road freight transport. 

Regulation (EU) No 70/2012  provides 
institutions  and  national 
governments with comparable, reliable, harmonised, regular and comprehensive statistical data on the 
scale  and  development  of  the  carriage  of  goods  by  road.  This  information  is  needed  for  framing, 
monitoring and evaluating EU policies. 

the  Commission,  other  EU 

Member States send information to the Commission in the form of microdata. This makes it possible 
to  provide  users  with  statistical  tables  containing  different  combinations  of  variables  subject  to 
safeguards on data reliability. 

Regulation (EU) No 70/2012  is  designed  to  minimise  the  burden  on  transport  companies.  Data 
collection is based on a sample survey, so information is requested only for a sample of vehicles and 
for  a  limited  amount  of  time  (generally  a  week).  Member  States  can  exclude  transport  operations 
below certain thresholds from the survey 3. This, however, could hamper the comparability between 
Member States and the combination with information from other data sources. 

The  tables  on  road  freight  transport  statistics  to  be  disseminated  by  Eurostat  are  defined  in 
Regulation (EU) No 202/2010  of  10 March 2010  amending  Regulation (EC) No  6/2003  concerning 
the dissemination of statistics on the carriage of goods by road 4. 

1 OJ L 32, 3.2.2012, p. 1. 
2 OJ L 163, 6.6.1998, p. 1. 
3 In accordance with Article 1 of Regulation (EU) No 70/2012, each Member State may exclude road transport 
vehicles  whose  load  capacity  or  maximum  permissible  weight  is  below  a  certain  limit.  This  limit  may  not 
exceed a load capacity of 3.5 tonnes or a maximum permissible weight of 6 tonnes in the case of single motor 
vehicles. 
4 OJ L 61, 11.3.2010, p. 24. 

EN 

  EN 

 
 
 
1.3 

POLICY CONTEXT 

Development of a common transport policy requires in-depth knowledge of the extent of road freight 
transport and how it has evolved. 

The European Green Deal 5 is a growth strategy that aims to make the EU’s economy sustainable by 
turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities across all policy areas and by making 
the  transition  just  and  inclusive  for  all.  To  achieve  climate  neutrality,  a  90%  reduction  in  transport 
emissions is needed by 2050. Priority actions for a shift to sustainable and smart mobility include: 

supporting the deployment of automated and connected mobility solutions across modes; 

•  boosting multimodal transport; 
• 
•  better addressing external costs of transport activities through pricing; 
• 
• 

ramping up the production and deployment of sustainable alternative transport fuels; and 
reducing pollution from transport, especially in cities. 

In  December  2020,  the  Commission  put  forward  the  ‘Sustainable  and  Smart  Mobility  Strategy  – 
putting European transport on track for the future’ 6, which outlines the planned steps to transform the 
EU  transport  system  in  line  with  the  ambition  of  the  European  Green  Deal.  The  mobility  strategy 
pursues the vision of sustainable, affordable, inclusive, smart, resilient and competitive mobility, and 
requires  a  fundamental  transformation  of  the  transport  sector.  This  translates  into  three  approaches 
that should be applied to all modes of transport: 

•  the  first  is  to  reduce  dependence  on fossil fuels  by  replacing  existing  fleets  with  low-  and  zero-

emission vehicles and increasing the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels. 

•  the second is to increase the use of less-polluting modes and to shift a substantial part of today’s 

inland freight carried by road (75%) onto rail and inland waterways. 

•  the  third  is  to  internalise  the  external  costs.  The  mobility  strategy  is  accompanied  by  an  action 
plan, which lists 82 initiatives in 10 key areas for action with concrete measures to be adopted. 

The data collected under Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 is important not only for decision-makers but 
also for professional organisations, transport companies, researchers and modellers in the field of road 
transport. The survey results are fundamental for monitoring the road haulage market in the EU and 
are  regularly  used  as  a  reference  in  Commission  communications,  staff  working  documents  and 
impact  assessments.  In-depth  knowledge  of  the  market  helps  improve  the  competitiveness  of 
companies  in  the  sector.  The  Regulation  produces  statistics  that  can  be  also  used  to  assess  the 
potential  of  shifting  goods  transport  from  road  to  more  environment-friendly  modes.  The  share  of 
freight using intermodal transport would be an important future dataset. 

1.4 

COVERAGE OF MEMBER STATES AND OTHER COUNTRIES 

Regulation (EU) No 70/2012  applies  directly  and  in  its  entirety  to  all  Member  States  and  requires 
them  to  transmit  quarterly  data  in  compliance  with  its  Article 5.  However,  in  accordance  with  its 
Article 1(3),  Regulation (EU) No 70/2012  will  not  apply  to  Malta  for  as  long  as  the  number  of 
Maltese-registered goods road transport vehicles licensed to engage in international carriage of goods 
by road does not exceed 400 vehicles. For that purpose, Malta must once a year report to Eurostat the 
number of vehicles that are licensed to engage in international carriage of goods by road. Malta must 

5 COM(2019) 640 final. 
6 COM(2020) 789 final. 

EN 

  EN 

 
 
 
report this number at the latest by the end of March following the year to which the number of goods 
road transport vehicles relates. 

Norway  and  Switzerland  also  provide  this  data.  Concerning  candidate  countries,  Montenegro  and 
North  Macedonia  have  been  providing  this  data  since  2016  and  2020  respectively.  Albania  is 
currently  taking  the  necessary  actions  to  develop  and  implement  the  road  freight  transport  survey. 
Eurostat takes every opportunity to encourage candidate countries and potential candidates to design 
and carry out their road freight transport surveys, so that they comply with the EU’s legislation in the 
field of statistics. 

2 

FOLLOW-UP OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATION (EU) NO 70/2012 

2.1 

COMPLIANCE WITH LEGAL OBLIGATIONS 

All  Member  States  maintain  a  very  high  level  of  compliance  with  the  data  provision  obligations 
defined  in  Regulation (EU) No 70/2012.  All  Member  States  deliver  the  requested  datasets,  with 
delays only in a small number of cases mainly due to updates of their IT systems and staff turnover. 
This makes it possible to produce high-quality, timely and reliable statistics on road freight transport 
in Europe. 

2.2 

DATA COLLECTION METHODS USED IN THE MEMBER STATES 

The methodological arrangements laid down in Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 provide the framework 
for the collection of well-defined microdata by the Member States on the basis of national surveys. 

Eurostat  gathers  information  about  national  data  collection  methods  (use  of  registers,  sampling 
methodology,  coverage,  etc.)  and  makes  it  available  in  its  publication  Methodologies  used  in  road 
freight transport surveys in Member States, EFTA and candidate countries 7. 

Moreover,  reporting  countries  update  their  national  metadata  files  annually  in  the  ‘Euro  SDMX 
Metadata  Structure’  template.  National  metadata  contain  a  statistical  presentation  of  road  freight 
transport data; information on the relevant national legislation, dissemination policy and data quality; 
any methodological updates; and information on the survey and the statistical processing of data 8. 

2.3 

BURDEN AND COSTS FOR THE MEMBER STATES 

Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 is designed to keep the burden on Member States to a minimum. Most 
Member States do not have to take extra measures because their existing processes are sufficient to 
meet the Regulation’s data collection requirements. 

According  to  the  information  reported  in  the  national  metadata,  the  vast  majority  of  reporting 
countries consider the workload for data provision to be acceptable. There are significant disparities 
between countries as concerns the burden and cost of the data collection. These depend on the size of 
the  sample  used  to  collect  data,  which  varies  from  country  to  country,  and  the  national  data 
compilation systems. The average time for respondents to report data for one vehicle with transport 
activity during the survey period is estimated by most countries to be around 30-45 minutes. A few 
countries report average times in the range of 20-30 minutes. 

7 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-manuals-and-guidelines/-/ks-gq-21-002 (available only in English). 
8 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/en/road_go_esms.htm (available only in English). 

EN 

  EN 

 
 
 
The  Commission  contributes  to  the  efforts  of  the  Member  States  to  produce  national  road  freight 
transport  statistics.  Eurostat  manages  the  national  microdata  and  compiles  statistics  (D-tables)  for 
transport activity in every country by vehicles registered in other countries. These statistics are sent 
back  to  the  national  statistical  authorities,  so  that  they  have  complete  statistical  information  on  all 
road freight operations in their territory by trucks registered anywhere in the EU (except in Malta), in 
Switzerland  and  in  Norway  and  can  produce  complete  national  statistics.  The  implementation  of 
Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 and the D-tables provided by the Commission save reporting countries 
the  effort  of  collecting  data  on  the  performance  of  foreign  trucks  in  their  territory  with  dedicated 
national  surveys.  The  cost  and  burden  generated  by  the  data  collection  is  therefore  more  than 
outweighed by the benefit of the resulting statistics. 

Furthermore,  collecting  and  managing  information  at  microdata  level  gives  Eurostat  flexibility  in 
meeting user needs for statistical information, without delays and additional effort at national level. 
The  dissemination  of  road  freight  transport  statistics  by  Eurostat  and  the  further  publication  of  D-
tables by the Member States is in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 202/2010. 

2.4 

REDUCING AND SIMPLIFYING ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN 

Reducing  and  simplifying  administrative  burden  is  an  ongoing  goal  for  the  Commission.  In 
cooperation  with  national  statistical  institutes,  Eurostat  implements  specific  actions  to  reduce  the 
national burden of data collection and reporting. These actions include: 

1.  the development of tools to facilitate the reporting of detailed regional data (e.g. tables matching 
postcodes and NUTS 9 level 3 codes in order to use information which is originally coded only by 
postcode); 

2.  newly  developed  dataset  validation  tools,  which  allow  reporting  countries  to  validate  their  data 
before they officially transmit them to Eurostat and to provide feedback on specific errors for each 
dataset; 

3.  regular  meetings  of  experts  from  Member  States,  EFTA  countries,  candidate  countries  and 
potential candidates (in the Commission’s Expert Group on Road Freight Transport Statistics and 
task  forces  if  necessary)  in  order  to  exchange  good  practices  and  discuss  data  quality, 
methodological issues and future progress. 

To  reduce  the  burden  on  respondents,  several  Member  States  have  been  reporting  data  using  e-
questionnaires,  electronic  Excel  worksheets  or  mobile  applications  for  transport  instead  of  paper 
documents. More countries are expected to apply similar methods in the near future. 

2.5 

DATA VALIDATION AND QUALITY OF THE STATISTICAL DATA RECEIVED 

Data  collection  and  transmission  is  the  responsibility  of  the  Member  States,  but  Eurostat  takes  all 
necessary measures to detect any errors in the data received and maintains a sophisticated IT system 
for  data  validation  and  processing.  Since  2022,  Eurostat  has  been  developing  an  advanced  and 
sounder  IT  system  that  contains  two  improved  components:  new  data  validation  tools,  which  have 
been  implemented  since  January  2023;  and  powerful software  (Statistical  Analysis  Systems  -  SAS) 
for  the  processing  of  microdata  and  metadata.  The  new  IT  system  will  be  fully  developed  by 

9 Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/background (available in 
English, French and German). 

EN 

  EN 

 
 
 
December  2023  and  will  enhance  the  standards  of  the  quality  checks  performed.  The  road  freight 
transport data collection will benefit from this modernised data validation and processing system. 

Overall, the quality of data received from the Member States is very good. All Member States revise 
data if  errors  are  detected.  Eurostat  applies a  detailed  validation  process to  quarterly  microdata and 
time-series checks to quarterly and annual freight transport data. 

•  Microdata validation: Member States transmit datasets to Eurostat via the EDAMIS portal and in 
files  that  are  compatible  with  the  SDMX  standard  (Statistical  Data  and  Metadata  eXchange).  A 
robust three-step validation process is then applied to the received datasets. 

o  Firstly,  the  STRUVAL  (STRUctural  VALidation)  tool  validates  each  dataset  in  terms  of 

format, completeness of mandatory fields, and correctness of structure and codes used. 

o  Secondly, the  CONVAL  (CONtent  VALidation) tool  validates the content  of  each  dataset  on 
the  basis  of  predefined  rules.  Reporting  Member  States  receive  a  validation  report  for  each 
transmitted  dataset  that  contains  details  which  make  it  easy  to  correct  any  errors.  Eurostat  is 
continuously  updating  the  applied  validation  rules  to  meet  evolving  needs  and  ensure  the 
production of high-quality statistics. 

o  Thirdly, another set of validation rules is applied within the IT data management system, where 
the  data  are  required  to  be  99.5%  correct  before  they  can  be  stored  in  a  database  for  further 
processing. 

•  Time-series  checks:  the  Commission  considers  it  important  to  identify  outliers  in  a  time  series 
before  data  is  published.  Eurostat  therefore  performs  time-series  checks  on  both  quarterly  and 
annual  data.  It  is  important  that  reporting  countries  confirm  trends  when  large  variations  are 
observed. When necessary, countries submit revised datasets or explanations of the reasons behind 
significant time-series variations. These explanations are listed in the document Country and table 
specific notes 10. 

2.6 

METHODOLOGICAL SUPPORT TO MEMBER STATES 

Eurostat continuously provides methodological and technical support to Member States and maintains 
a reliable data and metadata information system for the production of road freight transport statistics. 

Eurostat has produced two reference manuals for implementing Regulation (EU) No 70/2012: 

•  Road freight transport methodology 11, which outlines the methodological basis for the compilation 
of  road  freight  transport  statistics  in  Member  States,  EFTA  countries,  candidate  countries  and 
potential candidates; 

•  Methodologies  used  in  road  freight  transport  surveys  in  Member  States,  EFTA  and  candidate 
countries,  which  presents  the  methodological  aspects  of  the  surveys  for  road  freight  transport 
conducted in the reporting countries. 

https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/0c7a12bf-2645-4509-9339-a266f3e1e44d/library/f54dbc3c-55e5-469d-

10 
b8e1-4872271562da/details (available only in English). 
11 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-manuals-and-guidelines/-/KS-GQ-16-105  (available  only 
English). 

in 

  EN 

EN 

 
 
 
2.7 

DATA DISSEMINATION 

2.7.1 

Eurostat’s dissemination tables 

Aggregated data based on the microdata collected under Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 are published in 
Eurostat’s dissemination database 12. Users can obtain detailed statistical tables produced in line with 
the  provisions  of  Regulation (EU) No 202/2010.  There  are  43  tables  on  road  freight  transport 
complemented by a single EU metadata file and several national metadata files. 

In  2022,  Eurostat  disseminated  a  new  table  on  territorialised  road  freight  transport  performance  (in 
tonne-kilometres),  which  is  defined  as  the  performance  in  a  national  territory  independent  of  the 
haulier’s  country  of  registration.  To  calculate  the  series  of  territorialised  transport  performance,  the 
international  road  transport  performance  declared  by  each  Member  State  is  broken  down  into  the 
performance  that  took  place  in  each  other  EU  Member  State.  The  redistribution  of  transport 
performance  data  to  other  Member  States  involves  modelling  the  likely  journey  itinerary  and 
projecting it onto the EU road network. Eurostat calculates this with the help of a distance matrix. The 
new  table  presents  total,  national,  international  and  cabotage  transport  performance  for  each  EU 
Member State, the EU-27 as a whole, Norway and Switzerland. The national and cabotage data used 
for the production of this table is the data collected under Regulation (EU) No 70/2012. 

2.7.2 

Publications 

Eurostat produces Statistics Explained articles on road freight transport that provide an analysis of the 
data for the media and public. They cover the following topics: 

•  general trends in road freight transport 13 
•  road freight transport by vehicle characteristics 14 
•  road freight transport by journey characteristics 15 
•  road freight transport by type of goods 16 
•  road freight transport - cabotage 17 

These  articles  have  been  updated  annually  (except  for  the  article  on  cabotage  which  was  updated 
every 2 years until 2022 but will also be updated annually as from 2023). Articles are updated when 
the data collection for a given reference year is completed.  

2.7.3 

Anonymised data 

In compliance with Commission Regulation (EU) No 557/2013 18, road freight transport microdata are 
anonymised and made available to research entities for scientific purposes. Requests for anonymised 

12 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/transport/data/database (available in English, French and German). 
13 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Road_freight_transport_statistics  (available  only  in 
English). 
14 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Road_freight_transport_by_vehicle_characteristics 
(available only in English). 
15 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Road_freight_transport_by_journey_characteristics 
(available only in English). 
16 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Road_freight_transport_by_type_of_goods 
(available only in English). 
17 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Road_freight_transport_statistics_-_cabotage 
(available only in English). 

EN 

  EN 

 
 
 
data are received by the Commission (Eurostat) and access is granted following the joint approval of 
the Commission (Eurostat) and the national statistical authorities. In 2021, 2022 and the first 8 months 
of  2023,  access  was  granted  to  anonymised  data  of  the  European  Road  Freight  Survey  to  seven 
different research entities. 

2.7.4 

Other means of dissemination 

Data  on  road  freight  transport  is  also  disseminated  via  tailor-made  data  extractions  for  users  in 
Eurostat’s  news  items  (e.g.  Increase  in  road  freight  transport  as  of  2021 19)  and  other  Eurostat 
publications  (e.g.  Key  figures  on  European  transport 20,  Key  figures  on  the  EU  in  the  world 21,  the 
Eurostat  regional  yearbook 22  and  Key  figures  on  the  European  food  chain 23).  The  data  are  also 
disseminated in the publications of other Commission directorates-general, in particular those of the 
Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (e.g. the Statistical pocketbook 24). All data included 
in tailor-made extractions and publications are also published in Eurostat’s dissemination database. 

3 

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF ROAD FREIGHT STATISTICS 

The European Green Deal, which aims at making the EU climate-neutral by 2050, includes a set of 
transformative  policies  across  the  various  economic  sectors,  including  transport.  Road  freight 
transport statistics can help with setting and monitoring policy targets. This is achieved by providing 
data  on  volumes  of  goods  transported,  kilometres  travelled,  and  road  transport  equipment  and 
infrastructure.  Road  freight  transport  is  a  particularly  significant  sector  because  it  accounts  for  the 
highest share of the EU’s inland freight transport (77.3% in 2021 in terms of tonne-kilometres) 25. 

Eurostat,  the  Member  States,  the  EFTA  countries,  the  candidate  countries  and  potential  candidates 
discuss  data  needs,  ways to  improve  road  freight transport  statistics  and  ways to  further  reduce the 
data  collection  burden  during  the  meetings  of  the  Commission’s  Expert  Group  on  Road  Freight 
Transport Statistics. 

One development that started in 2018 concerns future statistics on transport by light utility vehicles. 
These vehicles do not transport very heavy loads but do travel a large number of kilometres in urban 
areas  and  therefore  make  a  significant  contribution  to  emissions  and  congestion.  Moreover,  an 
increasing  use  of  these  vehicles  can  also  be  observed  in  interurban  and  international  journeys.  The 
need  for  data  on  light  utility  vehicles  is  becoming  important  for  many  countries  because  they  are 
being integrated into the scope of the EU’s transport policy and related legal acts. Part of the data for 
light utility vehicles can be retrieved from registers on roadworthiness tests that gather information on 
the vehicle’s engine type, weight class, fuel type and emission-control technology.  

18 Commission Regulation (EU) No 557/2013  of  17 June 2013  implementing  Regulation (EC) No 223/2009  of 
the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  European  Statistics  as  regards  access  to  confidential  data  for 
scientific purposes and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 831/2002 (OJ L 164, 18.6.2013, p. 16). 
19 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20230725-1 (available only in English). 
20 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-key-figures/w/ks-07-22-523 (available only in English). 
21 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-key-figures/w/ks-ex-23-001 (available only in English). 
22 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-flagship-publications/-/ks-ha-22-001 (available only in English). 
23 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-key-figures/w/ks-fk-22-001 (available only in English). 
24 https://transport.ec.europa.eu/facts-funding/studies-data/eu-transport-figures-statistical-pocketbook/statistical-
pocketbook-2022_en (available only in English). 
25 Source: 
freight 
Modal 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/TRAN_HV_FRMOD/default/table?lang=en 
English, French and German). 

transport: 
in 

(available 

Eurostat 

inland 

table 

split 

of 

EN 

  EN 

 
 
 
A  task  force  dedicated  to  transport  by  light  utility  vehicles  was  created  in  2018  to  discuss  a 
methodology for collecting data, including definitions, thresholds, data sources and variables. In 2022, 
the task force produced a methodological document along with options for potential questionnaires to 
be used for a relevant data collection. The suggested methodology is being tested by several Member 
States in the context of the 2022 Eurostat grants. Once the results of the projects funded by the grants 
are available, the group will fine-tune the proposed methodology. 

In  a  written  consultation  in  2022,  reporting  countries  were  invited  to  provide  their  input  regarding 
potential improvements and new variables in the data collection for road freight transport. Their input 
to this consultation concerned: 

•  the  harmonisation  of  the  vehicle  categories  to  be  surveyed  for  collecting  data  under 

Regulation (EU) No 70/2012; 
•  an additional variable on fuel type; 
•  the potential elimination of the optional variable A1.1 (‘possibility of using vehicle for combined 

transport’); 

•  a proposal to report the optional variable A1.6 on NACE categories at two-digit level instead of 

four-digit level; 

•  a new optional variable on the emission class of motor vehicles.  

These  points  were  discussed  during  the  2022  meeting  of  the  Commission’s  Expert  Group  on  Road 
Freight Transport Statistics and will be followed up in future meetings of this group. 

4 

CONCLUSIONS 

The experience gained and results obtained from the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 
on  statistics  for  road  freight  transport  remain  positive.  The  Member  States  comply  with  the  data 
provision obligations, and the resources allocated at both national and Commission level permit the 
production  of  high-quality  results.  The  Commission  supports  the  Member  States  in  implementing 
Regulation (EU) No 70/2012  and  encourages  candidate  countries  and  potential  candidates  to  design 
and carry out road freight transport surveys. The Commission has been modernising its IT system for 
validating  and  processing  the  transmitted  microdata,  and  has  broadened  the  dissemination  of  road 
freight  transport  statistics.  The  Commission’s  Expert  Group  on  Road  Freight  Transport  Statistics 
remains  the  body  where  the  implementation  of  the  Regulation  and  its  potential  improvements  is 
actively discussed. 

Regulation (EU) No 70/2012  continues  to  be  an  efficient  and  effective  tool  for  the  production  of 
reliable and comparable road freight transport statistics at both EU and national level, thus preventing 
duplication  of  work.  The  statistics  produced  are  disseminated  as  tables  in  Eurostat’s  dissemination 
database  and  publications,  as  anonymised  datasets  and  as  tailor-made  extractions.  Road  freight 
transport  statistics  are  valuable  for  designing  and  assessing  policies  and  for  monitoring  the  road 
haulage market in the EU. 

EN 

  EN