The M3 is a freight route as much as a commuter one. It is the road between Southampton Docks — one of the country’s largest container and vehicle ports — and the M25, and the lorry figures show exactly where that traffic gets on and off.

Every stretch of the M3 by lorry traffic

Department for Transport 2025 figures, heaviest first. “Lorries” means all HGVs; vans are counted separately.

M3 Lorry & Freight Traffic: lorries a day, stretch by stretch

Stretch	Lorries per day	All traffic	Lorry share	Vans
J10 Chilcomb to J11 Compton	11,545	126,217	9.1%	21,990
J9 Winchester to J10 Chilcomb	10,404	110,741	9.4%	18,377
J13 Chilworth to J14 (M27)	9,901	140,750	7.0%	23,683
J12 Eastleigh to J13 Chilworth	9,893	130,785	7.6%	21,734
J11 Compton to J12 Eastleigh	9,384	128,023	7.3%	21,473
J3 Lightwater to Kitsmead Lane flyover	8,271	123,417	6.7%	17,926
Kitsmead Lane flyover to the M25 (J2)	7,713	113,905	6.8%	15,521
J4 Frimley to J3 Lightwater	6,774	118,589	5.7%	19,237
J8 A303 to J7 Basingstoke (est.)	5,995	101,834	5.9%	15,874
J7 to J6 Basingstoke (est.)	5,972	94,624	6.3%	14,660
J6 Basingstoke to J5 Hook	5,892	103,624	5.7%	16,409
J5 Hook to J4A Fleet	5,578	96,243	5.8%	14,516
J4A Fleet to J4 Frimley	5,104	93,372	5.5%	15,825
J9 Winchester to J8 A303	3,515	56,135	6.3%	10,433
J2 (M25) to J1 Sunbury (est.)	1,892	62,848	3.0%	10,905

© M3Traffic.co.uk · Statistics from the Department for Transport

Where the freight joins

The A34 at Junction 9 is the pivot. North of it the M3 carries 3,515 lorries a day and they are 6.3% of the traffic. South of it: 10,404 lorries, 9.4% — the highest lorry share anywhere on the motorway. The A34 is the direct route between Southampton Docks and the Midlands, and Junction 9 is where it arrives.

The heaviest single stretch by count is J10 Chilcomb to J11 Compton, with 11,545 lorries a day on eight tenths of a mile of road.

Why it matters when something goes wrong

A lane closure on a stretch carrying 11,545 lorries a day behaves differently from one on a commuter stretch. Lorries need longer to stop, take longer to clear, and an overturned HGV can close a carriageway for hours rather than minutes. Where our news reports a lorry incident on the M3 we say so, because it changes how long you should expect to wait.

Vans are the quieter half of the story and they are growing: 23,683 a day on the stretch into the M27, close to one vehicle in six.