EVR Cargo freight volumes fell short of a million tons in January

Estonian state-owned rail freight carrier EVR Cargo hauled 0.964 million tons in January, falling 27 per cent short of the 2015 January result.

EVR Cargo’s acting chairman of the board Paul Lukka said that freight volumes have remained on a stable level during the last months, despite the considerable reduction in freight flows compared to last year. “EVR Cargo is still impacted by a decreased volume of mineral liquid fuels, but we believe the slight decline in fertiliser volumes is a temporary development,” commented Lukka.

The volume of mineral liquid fuels reached 317 thousand tons in January, decreasing by 39 per cent compared to January last year. Fertiliser volumes dropped by a quarter to 269 thousand tons. Oil shale volumes were reduced by 12 per cent to 208 thousand tons, chemical goods decreased 4 per cent to 74 thousand tons and dry bulk cargo by 39 per cent to 16 thousand tons. Container volumes dropped by 15 per cent to 3542 TEU.

Russia was the largest trade partner for EVR Cargo in January with 432 thousand tons, decreasing 39 per cent compared to January  2015. Belarus’s trade volume increased by 25 per cent to 164 thousand tons, while Latvian volumes dropped by 56 per cent to 29 thousand tons. Trade exchange with Lithuania increased 100 per cent to 56 thousand tons, while Kasahstan’s share decreased by 93 per cent to 5 thousand tons. Transit volumes decreased by 40 per cent to 491 thousand tons, forming 51 per cent of the total freight volume.