The graph illustrates the amount of commodities delivered through four means of transportation (road, water, rail, pipeline) in the UK from 1974 to 2002. Units were measured in million tonnes.
Overall, figures for all four methods experienced a growth over the period given. While water and rail switched their positions after 28 years, road and pipeline remained the most and the least used methods for transporting goods, respectively.
With regards to the amount of products delivered via road, it started at 70 million tonnes, highest among the groups, and had an upward trend throughout as it peaked at 100 million tonnes in the final year. The data did plummet slightly in the periods between 1980 and 1982, and between 1992 and 1994.
Rail started with the second number of goods transported, at 40 million tonnes, then experienced a drop to approximately 25 million tonnes in 1995. After this point, it surged back to its initial number and managed to pass it slightly in 2002. In contrast, the figure for products delivered by ships began a little lower than 40, yet it rose steadily and hit a peak of around 60 million tonnes in the last year.
On the other hand, for pipeline, its data soared consistently from around 5 to slightly more than 20 million tones over the period. Still, it remained the least popular means of transportation.