Goods Traffic in Finland

Road traffic accounts for 90 % of all goods traffic in Finland by weight, and two-thirds by tonne-kilometres. Rail shipments account for 6% of freight tonnage, but almost 20 % of freight traffic by tonne-kilometre. Rail transportation is most favoured for longer journeys where loading and unloading times involved in transshipments do not add significantly to overall transportation times.

Air transportation only accounts for a small percentage of goods traffic, although goods transported by air tend to be highly valued. Inland water transportation has decreased significantly in Finland since logs are no longer floated as frequently along inland waterways to saw mills or pulp and paper mills.

Distances increasing faster than freight tonnages

About 75 % of goods shipments transported by road in Finland travel less than 50 kilometres, and two-thirds of such traffic by tonnage consists of mineral aggregates for construction and earthworks etc. Only 3 % of goods by tonnage and 5 % by tonne-kilometres are transported distances of more than 400 kilometres. This means that in practice there is no viable alternative to road transportation for most of the goods shipments currently transported by road in Finland.

Over the period 1980-2007 the quantities of goods transported annually in Finland have increased by about 20 % in tonnage terms, but 27 % in terms of tonne-kilometres. For goods transported by road, total transportation distances have risen by 46%, twice as rapidly as the increase in tonnage terms. This indicates that goods are being transported in smaller quantities, which is a negative development in terms of energy efficiency.