The volume of goods transported by the haulage industry has grown by 256 per cent over the last ten years to 304 million tonnes a year, according to research published today.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) survey of the sector examines the volume of goods transported and the composition of the fleet used.
In its survey of the sector in 2005, the CSO found that the volume of good transported had risen by 7 per cent last year compared with 2004 and a total of 2,566 million kilometres were travelled to deliver the goods.
The distances travelled per annum has increased by 163 per cent, compared with the same period last year.
Over the ten-year period the size of the haulage fleet has also increased by 163 per cent, and last year 94,845 vehicles carried almost 24.5 million individual loads.
Although the smallest vehicles in the fleet - the in two to five tonnes unladen category - make up 48 per cent of all vehicles, these carried only 4 per cent of goods transported.
Larger haulage vehicles, in the 10 to 12.5 tonnes category accounted 16 per cent of the fleet and 41 per cent of goods.
The largest lorries on the roads, those over 12.5 tonnes, account for just 11 per cent of the fleet and carried 37.5 per cent of all goods.
Last year, more than half of all goods carried were transported less than 25 kilometres.