M40 Lorry and Freight Traffic
Which parts of the M40 carry the most lorries? The answer is not the busiest end. This page ranks every main-line stretch by the share of traffic that is heavy goods vehicles, using the Department for Transport’s 2025 figures.
| Stretch | Lorries a day | Share of all traffic |
|---|---|---|
| J11 to J12 | 11,036 | 12.3% |
| J12 to J13 | 10,226 | 11.5% |
| J8 to J9 | 7,735 | 10.9% |
| J9 to J10 | 10,708 | 10.7% |
| J15 to J16 | 9,748 | 10.4% |
| J10 to J11 | 8,575 | 9.7% |
| J13 to J14 | 8,405 | 9.5% |
| J14 to J15 | 9,678 | 8.5% |
| J16 to M42 J3A | 8,185 | 8.5% |
| J5 to J6 | 8,311 | 8.2% |
| J7 to J8 | 6,448 | 7.0% |
| J6 to J7 | 6,528 | 6.8% |
| J4 to J5 | 6,646 | 6.7% |
| J3 to J4 | 6,656 | 6.5% |
| J1 to J1A | 5,976 | 6.3% |
| J1A to J2 | 8,242 | 6.0% |
| J2 to J3 | 7,496 | 5.6% |
Freight grows as you head north
At the London end lorries are a small part of a very large flow: about 6% between the M25 and High Wycombe. North of Oxford the share climbs, reaching 12.3% between Banbury and Gaydon, Junctions 11 to 12. That stretch also carries the most lorries of any on the road in absolute terms, 11,036 a day, even though its total traffic is about a third lower than the stretch past Beaconsfield.
The pattern follows the road’s shape. The southern M40 runs past Beaconsfield and High Wycombe with junctions close together; north of Oxford the junctions are further apart and the towns smaller, so lorries make up more of the traffic that remains.
Oxford’s freight junction
Between Junctions 9 and 10, past Bicester, the M40 carries 10,708 lorries a day. Junction 9 is where the A34 joins from Oxford and Newbury, and Junction 10 is where the A43 leaves for Northampton and Milton Keynes, so freight joins and leaves the M40 in numbers here. Northbound, this stretch carries 5,927 lorries a day — the highest single-direction figure on the road.
Vans
The figures also count light goods vehicles — vans. They are heaviest at the London end, with 22,610 a day between the M25 and Beaconsfield, and 20,992 between Beaconsfield and High Wycombe.
Lorries by direction
The split is close to even on most stretches. The clearest difference is past Bicester, where 5,927 lorries a day head north against 4,780 heading south. Between Junctions 15 and 16 it runs the other way, 5,041 southbound against 4,707 northbound. The northbound and southbound pages give the lorry count for every stretch in each direction.
Duplicate count points are counted once, as on how busy the M40 is. Link roads are left out. For the full picture, see M40 traffic statistics.
Traffic count figures on this page are from the Department for Transport road traffic statistics, 2025.