Nicola Fisher & Naomi McLaughlin DRD NI

Data Availability and Comparability by Sector in Northern Ireland and the

Republic of Ireland

Document existing freight movement data sources

Analysis of existing freight data sources –NI & ROI

Main sources- CSO (ROI), DfT (GB) and NISRA

Data requested from each organisation

- data related to NI

- data related to ROI

- data related to both NI and ROI

Document existing freight movement data sources

• Data Sources document drawn up by mode- Organisations (data providers)- Data Source - Data Summary Description- Collation Method (census, admin system)- Geographical coverage- Publication frequency- Published metadata

Assess North-South data comparability and highlight significant issues

Comparability table by mode created:

- availability of data (except rail) for NI & ROI

- comparability of data

- reason data aren’t comparable

- potential for comparability in future

Produce a report on findings and

include key comparable data

Report by sector has been produced detailing

- availability, data issues, North- South comparability and potential information gaps

Road Freight

• EU legislation 1172/98 on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods by road.

• Should ensure comparability between EU nations.

• Gathering detailed European statistics on road freight transport and harmonising them has been the challenge of the Council Regulation 1172/98.

Main Sources of Data for Road Freight

• Department of Transport (UK) ‘Continuing Survey of Road Goods Transport (NI), CSRGT(NI)

• CSO ‘National Survey of Transport of Goods by Road’

• Administration Systems in both Jurisdictions (DVANI, National Vehicle Driver File (ROI))

Data Issues for Road Freight

Vehicle weight threshold • CSRGT(NI) defines freight as having

Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of > 3.5 tonnes

• CSO defines freight as having an unladen weight of > 2 tonnes

• No impact on freight definition but comparison not possible by vehicle type and weight

Data Availability & ComparabilityComparable

NI ROI

Road Freight:

Tonnes carried Yes Yes Yes

Tonnes km Yes Yes Yes

Vehicle km Yes Yes Yes

Number of Heavy Goods Vehicles (Figures for NI are an actual count of licensed vehicles at the 31st December on any given year whereas figures for ROI are the average number of goods vehicles within the scope of the survey) Yes Yes Yes

The difference in counting methodolgy will be highlighted and presented in the report.

Laden Journeys Yes Yes Yes

Origin/Destination by NUTS III (EU Classification of territorial units for Statistics) Yes Yes Yes

Length of Haul Yes Yes Yes

Type of Freight being carried (i.e. Foodstuffs/Crude Minerals/Miscellaneous) yes yes no

NI uses an older classification of NST code than ROI

Yes, can be provided on request from DfT

By vehicle weight (Threshold for freight differs in ROI and NI with freight vehicles in ROI defined as having unladen weight of greater than 2 tonnes whereas in NI, freight vehicles is defined as having a gross vehicle weight of greater than 3.5 tonnes.) Yes Yes no

ROI uses unladen weight of vehicle and NI uses Gross Vehicle Weight

Potentially, but may involve a large amount of calculation on either of the sample surveys.

What proportion of freight is entirely internal? (i.e. NI vehicles with origin & destination within NI and ROI vehicles with an origin & destination within ROI) yes yes yes

What proportion of freight is entirely cabotage (Please note that Data on cabotage in both jurisdictions is only available for NI, ROI and GB registered vehicles)

data available for cabotage in ROI

data available for cabotage in NI Yes

Main times of day for travelling no no no data not available

Switching of Mode (i.e. from ship to road etc. ) no no no data not available

Van Freight data no no n/a data not available

Available

DataReason for not being comparable Potential for comparablility

Trends in Road Freight DataRoad Freight Activity in NI & ROI by vehicles registered in NI, ROI & GB, 2004 – 2009

Tonnes kilometres, Tonnes lifted, Vehicle Kilometres & Laden Journeys: 2004 - 2009 (Indexed to 2004 = 100)

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Tonne-Kilometres Tonnes Carried Vehicle Kilometres Laden J ourneys

Number* of Registered Vehicles Goods Vehicles in NI & ROI

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

num

ber

ROI registered vehicles NI registered vehicles

Data GapsActivities of Foreign Trucks• How long do they stay?• What are they carrying?• Nationality of Vehicles and Drivers?• Cabotage undertaken?• Tonnes lifted / tonnes km / Vehicle km

Data Gaps Continued

Extent of LGV/ Van Freight in Ireland• Large amount of goods being transported by

small vans & lorries. • Significant increase in the number of LGV’s

since 2005 in NI• No data on what they are carrying• Van Activity Baseline Survey in England 2008• Statistics Norway have also researched van

freight.

Maritime Freight• EC Maritime Statistics Directive (Council

Directive 2009/42/EC on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods and passengers by sea)

• Quarterly returns from ports collecting data

by route, nationality of vessel and cargo type.

Main Sources of Maritime Freight Data

Northern Ireland• Northern Ireland Ports Traffic - DETI• UK Maritime Statistics Report (detailed

info on NI Ports)

Republic of Ireland• Statistics of Port Traffic – CSO• The Irish Maritime Transport Economist –

IMDO - also includes info on NI Ports

Data Availability & Comparability

Data

Available Comparable

Reason for not being comparable

Potential for comparablilityNI ROI

Maritime Freight          

Tonnes carried Yes Yes Yes    

By freight type (e.g Ro/Ro, Lo/Lo) Yes Yes

Yes - with some combining of categories    

By Commodity

Some information available from DFT detailed report on NI's main ports Partial

Some data maybe comparable if categories are combined.    

Incoming / Outgoing Freight Yes Yes      

Departing/Arriving Port – don’t know where freight is coming from

Partial (know the region that freight is departing from or arriving to)

Partial (know the region that freight is departing from or arriving to)      

Maritime Data TrendsTotal Tonnage of Goods Handled in NI & ROI Ports by Category of

Traffic, 2002 - 2009

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

tonn

es

Total Goods Handled Roll-on/Roll-off Traffic Lift-on/Lift-off Traffic Other*

Maritime Data Trends

Breakdown of goods forwarded and goods received in NI & ROI

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

ton

nes

Goods Received Goods Forw arded

Maritime Data Gaps• Don’t know what is being transported in Lift on/Lift off (Lo/Lo) containers or in the Roll on/Roll off (Ro/Ro) vessels.

Air Freight• EC regulation No 437/2003 on statistical

returns in respect of the carriage of passengers, freight and mail by air

Main Sources of Air Freight Data

Northern Ireland• Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) - compile

administrative returns from airports.• Statistics are published monthly / annually

Republic of Ireland• Aviation Statistics Survey – data published

annually in Transport Omnibus Report

Data Issues• Double Counting of Airfreight• Relates to very high value goods, e.g.

computer chips• Freight on Airway Bill before cost of

transport determined• Potentially more cost-effective to transport

by truck to Heathrow for onward transportation to USA

Data Availability & Comparability

Data

Available Comparable

Reason for not being comparable

Potential for comparablilityNI ROI

Air Freight          

Tonnes Yes Yes Yes    

Departing or Arriving Airport

Known if arriving or departing from both jurisdictions

Known if arriving or departing from both jurisdictions Yes    

Weight of Freight (tonnes) Yes Yes Yes    

Type of Freight No No No    

Whether Incoming/Outgoing Freight Yes Yes  Yes    

Mail Included no Yes NoMail is included in ROI figures

Yes, have separate mail figures for NI so can add mail figures to freight to enable comparison.

Air Freight TrendsTotal tonnage of goods handled at NI & ROI Airports

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

200,000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

tonn

es

Total ROI Total NI

Data Gaps for Air Freight• No significant air freight gaps identified yet

Rail Freight • Rail Freight ceased in NI in 2003• Data for ROI is provided by Iarnród

Éireann and published in CSO Transport Omnibus on an annual basis

Rail Freight in ROIRail Freight carried by Iarnrod Eireann

(2003 = 100)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Freight Traff ic Tonnes Freight Traff ic Tonnes Kilometres

Rail Freight Data Issues• Bord na Mona • Extensive private rail network which is used for carrying Peat to power stations & other businesses• 3.3 million tonnes carried in 2008• Data not included in the CSO Statistics

Rail Freight Data Gaps• No significant data gaps identified yet