France road freight empty journeys: vehicle-km
France road freight empty journeys: vehicle-km stood at 2,975 million vehicle-km in 2025, according to SDES – Service des données et études statistiques (Ministère de la Transition écologique). It is one of the indicators in the Freight transport (annual) table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 1999 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Freight transport (annual) table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle-kilometres | |||||||||||
| Empty journeys | 2,975 | 3,009 | 2,964 | 2,958 | 3,065 | 2,920 | 2,995 | 3,030 | 3,110 | 3,336 | |
| Total | 17,251 | 17,163 | 16,771 | 16,949 | 17,178 | 16,743 | 17,169 | 16,894 | 17,142 | 16,846 |
Understanding france road freight empty journeys: vehicle-km
Kilometres accumulated by commercial goods vehicles traveling without any physical cargo aboard are enumerated in this series. The calculation covers repositioning trips, return journeys following delivery, and movements toward collection points where no freight is loaded. Included are all instances of unladen transit undertaken by heavy transport vehicles in the course of business. Excluded are journeys where goods are present in the cargo bay. This measure isolates the non-productive component of freight transport operations, providing a direct contrast to loaded journey metrics.
Assessing empty running requires careful consideration, as high levels often signal structural imbalances in trade flows or inefficiencies in logistics routing. Early statistical releases are adjusted as detailed transport survey data become available. Comparing annual figures helps track long-term changes in fleet management practices and logistics optimization. Analysts should not view this metric in isolation; it must be evaluated alongside loaded journey data to understand overall transport efficiency.
Frequently asked questions
- What causes commercial vehicles to travel empty?
- Vehicles often travel empty when returning from a delivery point where no backhaul cargo was available, or when repositioning for a pickup.
- Does this series include journeys with partial loads?
- No, any journey carrying even a partial load is classified as a loaded trip rather than an empty journey.
- Why is monitoring empty journeys useful for analysts?
- Tracking empty running helps measure logistical efficiency, supply chain imbalances, and the prevalence of return-trip freight matching.