Cargo volume in road freight traffic in China 2008-2023

With an ever-increasing rate of urbanization and modernization taking place all over China, the country’s road network has become a sophisticated means of mobility. The year 2023 saw an increase in the overall volume of cargo transported by road in China, which was equal to 40.34 billion metric tons.

 Chinese road infrastructure 

The country’s public roads have extended to nearly 5.3 million kilometers in the last twenty years, where expressways measured 169,100 kilometers in length as of 2021, a 5.7 times increase over the last two decades. In addition, the number of road bridges in China has increased to 961,100 in that year.

 Road freight traffic 

Road density within China, which refers to the ratio of the length of the total road network to the country’s land mass, has been steadily on the rise. In 2021, road density measured about 55 kilometers per 100 square kilometers. The efficiency and ease of mobility provided by this network has spurred China’s trade and commerce to new heights. In the same year, cargo road freight traffic volume in China amounted to 6.9 trillion ton-kilometers.