The decline in Combined Transport in Europe continues 14/05/24

Source: https://www.intermodale24-rail.net/news/news.html#0240514

The decline in Combined Transport in Europe continues, even if slowing down, according to data from the UIRR Q1-2024 report.

The UIRR association has published the report on the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, which shows that the combined transport traffic volume in Europe decreased in the period January-March 2024 by -3.89% compared to the same period in 2023 .

The fourth quarter of 2023 had marked a decline of -11.1% on 2022, while the third quarter (which I had already reported on) had reported the worst figure with -16.85% on 2022.

The 2024 data adds to that of the first quarter of 2023, which was -13.96% on 2022, which in turn was still positive (+5.14% on 2021) even if already within a trend of slowing of growth:

Even if this is a notable reduction in the drop in traffic, it is still a further contraction in volumes and a sign of the continuous process of reverse modal shift already reported several times in recent months.

Industry operators' sentiment on the forecast for the next 12 months (April 2024-March 2025) has improved to "Stable", from "Slightly Negative" in the third and fourth quarters of 2023.

The slow improvement of the economic situation, and the belief that the misfortunes of 2023 cannot be repeated for two consecutive years, bring a glimmer of hope.