Trucks and vans moving between the Netherlands and other European countries shifted 199 million tones of freight in 2017, a new record and an increase of 4.3% over 2016, the national statistics office CBS said on Thursday.

Vehicles registered in other European states moved 95 million tonnes in and out of the Netherlands in 2017, a 5.1% increase over the previous year, while Dutch-registered trucks carried the remainder, representing a 3.5% gain.

Foreign-registered trucks are making inroads into the market: their share rose to 48% in terms of tonnage in 2017 from 38% in 2008. The biggest gains were made by trucks registered in the central and eastern European countries where tonnage nearly trebled in the 10 years to 2017.

Bilateral trade characterises the road haulage sector. A full 92% of the tonnage carried in Dutch trucks was loaded or discharged in the Netherlands. The share of bilateral trade involving vehicles registered in eastern and central Europe was 61%.

German and Belgian trucks carried a combined 40% of the tonnge to and from the Netherlands last year, down from 62% in 2008. The biggest gainer was Poland: its trucks moved 25.4 million tones of goods in 2017, representing a 27% market share, up from only 11% in 2008, the CBS said.