Unpacking freight – Identifying conditions driving regional freight transport in statistics.

Statistical information on freight transport does not adequately capture developments in practice. This paper applies a Bayesian framework to integrate statistics on regional freight transport with data on regional trade. The resulting data describe freight transport in the Netherlands at the NUTS 3 regional level by NSTR commodity groups, and by type of flow. We distinguish intraregional transport, regional exports and imports, international exports and imports, and regional transit. The contribution of this paper is that conditions driving regional transport flows are reflected more clearly in the data. The results show the relative importance of logistic processes in regional transport in the Netherlands. Similarly, specific regional production patterns are also reflected in the data. The results contribute to the development of more evidence-based, region-specific freight strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]