Globally, freight volumes show a slight growth, the recovery in Europe and the US being triggered by exports to Asia, while trade with China and the ASEAN countries show slight signs of slowdown. UE27 exports to China increase in the second quarter of the year, shows the September report of the International Transport Forum.
But in Central and Eastern Europe, external demand remained the key factor of economic growth, the strong connection with German manufacturers maintaining industrial production. In CEE, the reco-vering domestic demand will slightly grow in 2011 in most markets, while in South-Eastern Europe the GDP growth is visible in most countries.
Although the logistics market stagnated during recession, it now shows a constant development, due to the activity in Russia and Poland. The increasing productivity and the manufacturers’ connection with the CEE markets has triggered a more intense activity not only in capitals, but also in regional cities, especially from the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. “The economic growth in CEE countries is the result of increasing transport demands and the positive trend of the economy in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The logistics sector is visibly influenced in a positive way”, declared Elmar Wireland, spokesman of Schenker & CO AG.
Therefore, the increasing freight transport segment requires the development of terminals and increasing capacities both nationally and regionally. Railway and port infrastructure development projects demand massive investments which should be coordinated by aligning long-term strategic plans.
To answer the need of increasing freight capacities, “links to port facilities, stations and shunting areas should be expanded in collaboration with state companies and private terminal owners, as they are most interested in benefiting from a balanced railway capacity and should be able to provide the most accurate demand estimates. If private port operators plan new investments and expect new freight volumes, then railways should be capable to face these demands”, declared Uldis Augulis, in an interview for our August magazine issue. As freight volumes are increasing, the greatest challenge remains the allocation of massive infrastructure investments aimed at increasing transport capacity, as freight transport services cannot be delivered if the infrastructure is underfinanced, and therefore inefficient.
In Europe, the cost of infrastructure development is estimated at over EUR 1,500 Billion by 2030, the finalization of the TEN-T network at EUR 550 Billion, EUR 250 Billion of which should be invested in removing most frequent
bottlenecks.
Share on:
