The number of UK haulage companies making deliveries to mainland Europe increased again in the first quarter of 2013.

New statistics published by the Department for Transport (DfT) showed that 620,000 freight carriers travelled to the continent between January and March, 466,000 of which were "powered vehicles" while 153,000 were "unaccompanied trailers".

This was a near two per cent improvement on the corresponding period in 2012 and is the third consecutive quarter in which haulage traffic has risen year-on-year.

Overall, 2.44 million goods vehicles made the short hop across the water to mainland Europe in the 12 months leading up to the end of the first quarter of 2013.

While this was 17 per cent lower than the peaks reached in 2007, it is nevertheless encouraging to see so many British logistics firms making overseas deliveries, especially given the tough economic climate and difficult trading conditions.

The DfT figures also showed the number of goods vehicles travelling from the UK to Europe has risen by nearly 75 per cent in the last 20 years.