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Last year's recession took a sizable bite out of railborne cargo traffic entering and leaving the Port of
Rotterdam. Even so, rail-borne container traffic destined for Italy has begun to grow again, according
to data collected by the Rotterdam-based public information agency Rail Cargo Information
Netherlands (RICN) and the Rotterdam Port Authority. While the Rotterdam-Italy connection might have
recovered, the Rotterdam-Romania line is not seeing similar growth. On the other hand, tanker and
container traffic destined for Poland is on the rise again. The Rotterdam-Warsaw container-line started
running three times a week instead of twice late last year.
This shows that certain cargo streams that came under severe pressure in 2009 had begun to
recuperate in the last months of that year. Such a recovery was eagerly anticipated by the
railborne cargo market, because it saw container volume decrease by percentages well into the double
digits, depending on the destination. German destinations also saw reduced traffic, but here
too, the low point was reached at the end of last year.
Rail container shipments decreased by approximately 20 per cent compared to 2008 (1 million TEU).
Photo Wim Scheurkogel
Even so, railborne container traffic didn't get the worst beating when compared to the bulk market. In
2008, 43 million tonnes of cargo were transported by rail. A third of this total, 14 million tonnes, consisted
of coal and iron ore, which was a marked decline for this sector. Rail-borne ore transport even fell by 50
per cent, largely due to a lower demand for steel used in the production of new cars, mainly in Germany.
Coal transport, mostly destined for the German consumer market, saw a 'mere' 10 per cent decline.
According to Rail Cargo Information Netherlands, it will be a long time before the rail freight sector
returns to pre-crisis levels. The extremely high volumes carried in 2008, when a total of one million
TEU was transported by rail, will not be attained again for some time, according to RICN.
The rail information office assumes that the rail market in Rotterdam will experience/see some
dramatic changes this year, most of them due to recent mergers and takeovers. These have led to
substantial changes in the rail market, which will have far-reaching effects in 2010. The organisations
left standing after the numerous takeovers will need to be restructured. According to RICN, change is unavoidable.
For instance, SNCF Fret, the French state-owned railway's freight division, will become a
very large player next year. This company recently bought its French competitor Veolia Cargo,
which had itself gobbled up Rail4Chem in the past. German rail operator ITL has been the property of SNCF Fret
for some time. These companies will probably merge into a single rail cargo carrier. This will create a second large
player on the Rotterdam rail market, alongside current market Leader DB Schenker Rail and a number of smaller,
private rail operators.
Rail Cargo Information Netherlands expects drastic changes on other fronts as well - for instance, the methods
used to organise train services. RICN assumes that clients and rail operators will no longer want to
commit to train capacity far in advance.
Today, clients prefer trains made up on demand, according to the real demands of the moment. In the
near future, larger clients will only ship a minor part of their rail-borne cargo on a fixed contractual basis.
Most of it will be carried by trains put together on the spot. This goes for bulk and container goods alike.
Specialised companies will ensure rail cars and locomotives are available on time to rail operators
and their clients. Such third parties are more flexible in this respect, because they are not limited to a
given supplier of railroad traction.
The French SNCF Fret's acquisition of Veolia Cargo will turn it into a major player on the Rotterdam rail market in 2010.
Photo Wim Scheurkogel
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