Increasing numbers of lorries travelling through the Channel Tunnel helped to offset a decline in passenger figures last year following the abolition of duty free sales.
Operator Eurotunnel says freight traffic increased by 35% during 2000, with 1.1 million trucks using the tunnel.
But the number of car and coach passengers fell by 15% and 3% respectively as fewer people travelled to the Continent on shopping trips following the abolition of duty free sales within the European Union in July, 1999.