The provided line graph illustrates the volume of goods transported in the UK from 1974 to 2002, measured in million tonnes, across four modes of transportation: road, water, rail, and pipeline.
Overall, road transport consistently dominated in the amount of goods transported, peaking at nearly 100 million tonnes in 1998. Water transport fluctuated between 60 and 80 million tonnes, while rail transport showed a steady increase from around 40 to 60 million tonnes. Pipeline transport had the lowest tonnage, with minimal growth from approximately 20 to 30 million tonnes.
Goods transported via road in 1974 stood at nearly 70 million tonnes, maintaining this level until 1982 before witnessing a gradual increase to almost 80 million tonnes by 1994 and reaching approximately 100 million tonnes by 2002. Water and rail transportation started at similar levels in 1974, around 40 million tonnes each. The volume of water transport rose steadily from 1978 to 1982, increasing by about 15 million tonnes to almost 55 million tonnes, remaining stable until 1994, and reaching 65 million tonnes by 2002, while rail transport decreased to around 30 million tonnes by 1994, before rising again to about 40 million tonnes by 2002.
In contrast, pipeline transportation began with the transportation of almost 4 million tonnes in 1974 and showed significant growth to nearly 29 million tonnes by 1994, maintaining this level until 2002. Despite this growth, pipeline transport remained significantly lower than the other modes of transportation throughout the period. Therefore, road transport consistently accounted for the largest share of goods transport, while pipeline transport had the smallest contribution.