UK rail freight moved: metals
UK rail freight moved: metals stood at 261.45 in Q2 2026, according to Office of Rail and Road. It is one of the indicators in the Freight transport table (Value · Quarterly), with a complete series running from Q2 1998 to Q2 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Freight transport table
| Indicator | Q2-2026 | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freight moved | |||||||||||
| Metals | 261.45 | 277.34 | 253.25 | 269.19 | 269.74 | 279.45 | 241.85 | 243.57 | 281.87 | 262.88 | |
| Oil and petroleum | 95.39 | 99.17 | 101.41 | 145.47 | 189.09 | 184.37 | 199.04 | 212.26 | 202.71 | 194.26 |
Understanding UK rail freight moved: metals
Industrial metal transportation by rail across Great Britain tracks the movement of raw and finished metallic products, measured in million net tonne kilometres. This category isolates ferrous and non-ferrous inputs, including steel coils and iron ore, moving between manufacturing plants, ports, and processing facilities. It differs from other commodity streams by focusing strictly on the heavy industrial supply chain, leaving out consumer freight and bulk minerals.
Interpreting these metrics requires caution regarding scheduled industrial shutdowns and global supply chain shifts affecting domestic manufacturing. Early data releases often face retroactive adjustments once operators verify final tonnage manifests. Analysts generally prefer comparing corresponding quarters from previous years to assess genuine structural demand rather than short-term operational fluctuations.
Frequently asked questions
- What types of goods are counted under the metals category?
- It includes raw ores, steel coils, and other metallic products moving through industrial supply chains.
- Does this metric cover international metal shipments arriving by sea?
- It only measures the portion of the journey completed on the rail network within Great Britain.
- Why use year-on-year analysis for industrial freight?
- Annual comparisons account for factory shutdowns and seasonal maintenance cycles that distort sequential quarterly data.