EVR Cargo’s freight volume reached 1.3 million tons in January

Estonian state-owned rail freight operator EVR Cargo’s freight volume reached 1.3 million tons in January, dropping by 18 per cent compared to January 2014.

According to EVR Cargo’s chairman of the board Ahto Altjõe, transport volumes were reduced along all major freight groups except fertilisers, with the largest decrease occurring in the volume of mineral liquid fuels. “We remain hopeful that the reasons for the decrease in oil volumes are of a temporary nature and this important commodity group’s volumes will be restored to the usual levels,” noted Altjõe. “Rail transport is also facing serious competition from road transport, which also has a negative impact on freight flows by rail,” added Altjõe.

Container traffic volumes dropped by 31 per cent to 4068 TEUs in January, due to a planned upgrading period at the Mitsubishi plant in Russia. “There was a temporary suspension of container flows to Kaluga, but we remain cautious about other developments in this segment,” explained Altjõe.

The overall volume of mineral liquid fuels in January decreased by 32 per cent year-on-year, reaching 517 thousand tons. Oil shale volumes dropped by 4 per cent to 238 thousand tons, chemical goods volumes by 20 per cent to 76 thousand tons and dry bulk cargo dropped by 54 per cent to 26 thousand tons. Fertilisers were up by 19 per cent, reaching 359 thousand tons.

The most important trade partner for EVR Cargo in January was Russia, where the total volume of goods exchanged reached 707 thousand tons tons, decreasing by 16 per cent year-on-year. Russia was followed by Belarus with 130 thousand tons, Latvia with 65 thousand tons and Kazakhstan with 65 thousand tons. Trade exchange with Lithuania increased by 100 per cent to 30 thousand tons.

Transit freight volumes reached 872 thousand tons in January, forming 67 per cent of the total freight volume and decreasing by about a fifth compared to January last year.

AS EVR Cargo was separated from Estonian Railways in 2012, the company serves its customers in Estonia on a 1229-kilometre long railway track as well as over the entire 1520-millimeter gauge railway network, stretching from Finland to the Black Sea and from the Baltic States to the coast of the Sea of Japan, covering all CIS member states. Rail cars are hauled to and from Russia and surrounding regions in block trains or shuttles, requiring less formalities and thus ensuring
faster delivery times. The company also has its own fleet of more than 3300 wagons and 80 locomotives and offers rolling stock repair and maintenance services to its customers. The Estonian logistics hub has several competitive advantages: fully renovated railway infrastructure with more than 25 million tons of annual free capacity, modern port and terminal infrastructure, transparent costs and a business-friendly tax and economic environment.