Trucks: what they are and why they are so important
Road freight transport is the backbone of trade and commerce on the European continent. Trucks carry 73.1% of all freight transported over land in the European Union.
What are trucks?
The European classification system defines trucks as “motor vehicles with at least four wheels, used for the carriage of goods”. They have a mass of more than 3.5 tonnes.
Under this system, trucks are either classified in the N2 category (weighing more than 3.5 tonnes) or N3 (weighing more than 16 tonnes).
N3 vehicles are also referred to as ‘heavy trucks’ or ‘heavy commercial vehicles’.
The end-use of trucks varies widely – they may for instance be used for long-haul or regional delivery, for construction or for municipality use.
Depending on their mission, most trucks are custom-built on an individual basis, often in a multi-stage process, in order to meet specific requirements. They can vary from the number of axles to the size of the engine, fuel tank or cab, to the height of the chassis.
When taking the complete vehicle into account – a rigid body or a tractor plus a trailer – the truck market becomes even more complex. There are literally thousands of shapes and sizes of trucks.
Why are trucks so important?
Road freight transport is the backbone of trade and commerce on the European continent.
Trucks carry 73.1% of all freight transported over land in the European Union.
Trucks function as part of a logistics chain whose components also include inland waterways, shipping, air and rail transport. While separately, each has its own advantages, combined they form an integrated system. The other transport modes also depend on trucks to transfer freight to and from depots, rail terminals, airfields and ports.
Not only do trucks remain the most flexible, responsive and economic mode of transport for the vast majority of goods and freight, they are also essential to the functioning of the larger, integrated European logistics and transport system.
Most of our daily necessities, such as fresh food from the supermarket or corner shop, newspapers and magazines, electronics and appliances, clothing, and so on, depend on trucks at some point in the distribution chain.
Many essential public services are delivered by trucks, such as garbage collection, fire and construction services.
In figures
6.2 million – Today, there are some 6.2 million trucks in circulation throughout the EU.
13 years – The average age of Europe’s trucks is 13 years.
247,499 new trucks were sold in the EU in 2020, a drop of 25.7% compared to 2019.
58 – There are 58 truck assembly plants in Europe.
435,976 trucks were manufactured in the EU in 2020.
159,233 trucks (over 5 tonnes) were exported worldwide in 2020, worth €5.7 billion. Trucks generate an annual trade surplus of €4.9 billion for the EU.
50% of heavy trucks built in the United States now come from European-owned factories, based on European technology.
96.5% of all new trucks sold in the European Union are powered by diesel, and 0.1% by petrol.
3.4% – Alternatively-powered vehicles (battery electric, plug-in hybrid, hybrid and alternative fuels) together represent 3.4% of new truck sales in the EU, but only 0.7% of all trucks on the road today.
<1% – Indeed, heavy trucks with alternative powertrains represent less than 1% of the current heavy truck fleet.
3,415,000 people are employed in the road freight transport sector.
27.5% – The performance of road freight transport (measured in billion tonne-kilometres) grew by 27.5% between 2000 and 2018.
150 km – In modern economies, 85% of road freight tonnage is carried over distances of 150km or less, along routes for which no other form of transport would be realistic. Less than 1% gets carried over 1,000 km.
55% – Despite the increase in freight transport, fatalities involving heavy goods vehicles decreased by 55% between 2001 and 2018.
卡车:它们是什么?为什么它们如此重要
公路货运是欧洲大陆贸易和商业的支柱。在欧盟，卡车运输占所有陆路货物运输的73.1%。
卡车是什么?
欧洲分类体系将卡车定义为“至少有四个轮子，用于运输货物的机动车辆”。它们的质量超过3.5吨。在该系统下，卡车被分为N2类(重量超过3.5吨)或N3类(重量超过16吨)。N3车辆也被称为“重型卡车”或“重型商用车辆”。卡车的最终用途差别很大，例如，它们可以用于长途运输或区域运输、建筑或市政用途。根据他们的任务，大多数卡车都是定制的，通常是一个多阶段的过程，以满足特定的要求。从车轴的数量到发动机、油箱或驾驶室的大小，再到底盘的高度，都有可能发生变化。当考虑到整车——一个刚体或一辆拖拉机加一辆拖车——卡车市场就变得更加复杂了。卡车的形状和大小数以千计。
为什么卡车如此重要?
公路货运是欧洲大陆贸易和商业的支柱。在欧盟，卡车运输占所有陆路货物运输的73.1%。卡车是物流链的一部分，而物流链的组成部分还包括内河、海运、空运和铁路运输。各有各的优点，结合起来形成一个完整的系统。其他运输方式也依赖卡车将货物运送到仓库、铁路终点站、机场和港口。卡车不仅仍然是绝大多数货物和货运的最灵活、反应最快和最经济的运输方式，而且对更大、一体化的欧洲后勤和运输系统的运作也是必不可少的。我们的大多数日常必需品，如超市或街角小店的新鲜食品、报纸杂志、电子电器、服装等等，在配送链的某个点上都依赖于卡车。许多基本的公共服务是由卡车提供的，例如垃圾收集、消防和建筑服务。
在数据
620万辆——今天，在整个欧盟，大约有620万辆卡车在流通。
13年——欧洲卡车的平均使用年限是13年。
2020年欧盟新卡车销量为247499辆，比2019年下降25.7%。
58 -欧洲有58家卡车装配厂。
2020年，欧盟共生产了435,976辆卡车。
2020年，全球出口了159233辆卡车(超过5吨)，价值57亿欧元。卡车每年为欧盟带来49亿欧元的贸易顺差。
在美国制造的重型卡车中，有50%来自基于欧洲技术的欧洲工厂。
在欧盟销售的所有新卡车中，96.5%是柴油驱动的，0.1%是汽油驱动的。
3.4%——替代动力汽车(电池动力、插电式混合动力、混合动力和替代燃料)合计占欧盟新卡车销量的3.4%，但仅占目前上路卡车的0.7%。
1%——事实上，配备可替代动力系统的重型卡车只占目前重型卡车总数的不到1%。
公路货运部门雇用了341.5万人。
27.5%——2000年至2018年期间，公路货运(以10亿吨公里计算)的表现增长了27.5%。
150公里-在现代经济中，85%的公路货运吨位是在150公里或更短的距离内运输的，在这些路线上没有其他形式的运输是现实的。只有不到1%的人被携带超过1000公里。
55% -尽管货运增加，但2001年至2018年期间，重型货车造成的死亡人数下降了55%。
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