The line graph reveals the amount of goods shipped in the UK from 1974 to 2002 by four ways of transport.
Overall, roads remained the primary way of transport during the timeframe. It is also noteworthy that shipments for all means of transport increased except for rail, which was essentially unchanged.
The highest number of products was delivered by road, increasing from around 70 million tonnes in 1974 to approximately 100 million tonnes in 2002. In comparison, only about 5 million tonnes of goods were transported by pipeline in 1974. After that the number climbed considerably to approximately 22 million tonnes in around 1995 before staying at this level until 2002.
The quantities of goods transported by rail and water were almost the same at the beginning of the timeframe and represented around 40 million tonnes. Such a trend was maintained until 1978, and then the water trend saw growth, which accounted for almost 60 million tonnes in 1982. However, the rail trend decreased and reached the lowest number of transported goods in 1994, at around 27 million tonnes. In 2002, the trend of rail reached a peak which made up more than 60 million tonnes.
