M42 Lorry and Freight Traffic

This page looks at goods traffic on the M42 — heavy goods vehicles and vans — using the Department for Transport road traffic statistics, 2025. It answers where on the M42 you are most likely to be driving among lorries.

Lorries and vans on the whole road

Added across all 26 count points, lorries make up 11.7% of M42 traffic and vans 16.9%. Together, goods vehicles are more than a quarter of everything on the road.

Stretch by stretch

M42 Lorry and Freight Traffic: lorries a day, stretch by stretch

Stretch	Lorries per day	Lorry share	Vans per day	Van share
M5 J4A to J1	11,296	11.4%	18,350	18.6%
J1 to J2	11,711	10.1%	21,690	18.7%
J2 to J3	11,224	9.8%	20,730	18.2%
J3 to J3A	12,185	9.6%	23,658	18.7%
J3A to J4	14,559	11.3%	20,207	15.6%
J4 to J5	14,082	10.3%	22,517	16.5%
J5 to J6	11,483	10.4%	15,716	14.3%
J6 to J7	13,382	10.4%	18,520	14.4%
J7 to J7A	10,902	11.0%	13,991	14.1%
J8 to J9	16,242	15.5%	17,105	16.3%
J9 to J10	11,558	14.5%	14,067	17.7%
J10 to J11	10,831	16.0%	16,032	23.7%

© M42Traffic.co.uk · Statistics from the Department for Transport

J3A to J4 and J10 to J11 are each counted twice; we show the busier point, as on how busy is the M42.

Where the lorries are

The most lorries on any stretch of the M42 are between Junction 8 and Junction 9, at 16,242 a day, 15.5% of all traffic there. This is the section that was rebuilt as part of the M6 Toll works and now links the M6 with the southern end of the toll road. Of those lorries, 8,783 are northbound and 7,458 southbound.

The highest lorry share is further north: 16.0% between Junction 10 and Junction 11, where the road heads for the A42 and the M1. The same stretch has the highest van share on the main line, at 23.7%.

Where cars dominate

From Junction 5 to Junction 7A, around Solihull, the NEC and Birmingham Airport, cars and taxis are about three-quarters of traffic and lorries a little over 10%. The south-western stretches towards the M5 carry more vans, at around 18% to 19%.

What it means on the road

If you are joining the M42 from the M6 or the M6 Toll, expect a heavier mix of lorries than on the Solihull section. For the M6 itself, see M6 Traffic. Lorry drivers looking for a stop will find HGV parking at Tamworth and Appleby Magna.

Traffic count figures on this page are from the Department for Transport road traffic statistics, 2025.