UK port freight tonnage: all traffic
UK port freight tonnage: all traffic stood at 428.29 million tonnes in 2025, according to GOV.UK official statistics. It is one of the indicators in the Port and waterborne freight table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 1965 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Port and waterborne freight table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freight tonnage | |||||||||||
| All port traffic | 428.29 | 429.96 | 434.87 | 458.98 | 445.65 | 438.87 | 482.49 | 483.31 | 481.81 | 484.05 | |
| International imports | 241.28 | 236.29 | 234.78 | 247.53 | 236.28 | 228.2 | 257.48 | 257.37 | 248.35 | 243.38 |
Understanding UK port freight tonnage: all traffic
Gross mass aggregate of maritime cargo handled at terminals across the United Kingdom, spanning overseas exchanges alongside internal movements. The metric tallies both incoming and outgoing physical weight measured in million tonnes, absorbing foreign shipments, coastal voyages, and single-port transfers. Unlike domestic-only breakouts or directional subsets, this aggregation sums every category of waterborne payload passing across national facility quaysides.
Evaluating year-on-year comparisons provides the most reliable perspective by neutralising recurring weather disruptions and predictable quarterly fluctuations in bulk commodities. Users should note that methodological updates to port survey thresholds or administrative reporting boundaries can cause discontinuous shifts in the series. Correlating these weight totals against monetary trade figures requires caution because heavy raw materials distort valuation comparisons relative to manufactured goods.
Frequently asked questions
- What categories of maritime freight are included in this metric?
- The series incorporates international imports and exports alongside domestic coastwise and one-port waterborne movements.
- Does this indicator measure cargo volume in weight or physical dimensions?
- Quantities are expressed in million tonnes of gross weight, inclusive of packaging but exclusive of container tare weights where applicable.
- Why might this aggregate differ from monetary trade data?
- Physical weight totals are heavily influenced by high-tonnage bulk commodities like coal and oil, which do not necessarily reflect high financial value.