A detailed look at the countries on the left reveals that Germany stays in first place.
However, it is followed by Poland in second place regarding its tonne-kilometre
performance (according to tonnage, Poland reaches the fourth rank – Figure 2.43). For
Spain, a similar finding can be stated. With a fifth rank regarding tonnes moved, it is
third in terms of tonne-kilometres. The reasons for this changed picture are higher
transport distances over which the loads are transported in these countries. As the UK
is a group of islands with specific geographical conditions, relatively lower tonnekilometre
figures are plausible due to the size of the landmasses.