Steady growth for Aussie truck fleet

The latest Motor Vehicle Census from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows there were 558,975 trucks on Australian roads last year, the figure representing a two per cent rise from the previous year and an 11.1 per cent rise from 2009.

The 2014 figure comprises 135,658 light rigid vehicles (up 3.4 per cent from the previous year), 329,464 heavy rigid vehicles (up 1.1 per cent), and 93,853 articulated trucks (up 3.2 per cent). The ABS classifies light rigids as having a GVM of 3.5-4.5t and heavy rigids as having a GVM of over 4.5t.

Over the five-year period it's light rigid trucks leading the way, with growth of 22.5 per cent, followed by articulated trucks (up 15.6 per cent) and then heavy rigids (up 6.0 per cent).

Numbers of light commercial vehicles (defined as vehicles designed primarily for the carriage of goods and with a GVM of under 3.5t) are also rising. There were 2,824,052 LCVs on the road last year, that figure up 3.9 per cent from 2013 and up 19.1 per cent from 2009.

Light commercial vehicles accounted for 16.0 per cent of all vehicles on the road last year, while rigid trucks accounted for 2.6 per cent and articulated trucks just 0.5 per cent.

The average age of Australia's truck fleet continues to rise. From 2009 to 2014, the average age of the light rigid truck fleet has increased from 10.9 to 11.1 years, with a corresponding rise for rigid trucks from 15.4 to 15.6 years. The average age of articulated trucks rose from 10.7 to 11.4 years.

Over the same period the average age of Australia's light commercial vehicle fleet has remained steady, at 10.4 years.

And if you think traffic just keeps on getting worse, you're right. In total, there were 17,633,493 registered motor vehicles on our roads last year – an increase of 2.6 per cent from the previous year and 12.5 per cent since 2009.

Click here to view the latest ABS Motor Vehicle Census.