Combined transport volumes have decreased by 7 per cent this year, and this is a trens unlikely to swing in the other direction soon. Companies in this sector do not expect an upward trend for the time being.

This was reported by the International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport (UIRR). According to the trade association, the volumes in the second quarter were almost 15 per cent lower than in the same period a year earlier. The UIRR attributes the decline to the corona crisis. In 2019, combined transport industry witnessed an increase in volumes by 1.5 per cent.

Little optimism

A consultation by the UIRR shows that companies in the combined transport sector see only a few bright spots. Entrepreneurs expressed little optimism for the next 12 months for the second quarter in a row.

UIRR chairman Ralf-Charley Schultze expects that the economic constraints resulting the corona crisis will continue to weigh heavily on combined transport. The industry is working hard to maintain service levels and to attract new customers, he writes.