Kombiverkehr sets transport volume record in 2008
Despite the start of the recession, Kombiverkehr KG, the European market leader for shifting transport from road to rail, set a new record for transport volumes in 2008. The number of truckloads shifted from road to rail rose another 20,000 units on the previous year to reach 1.021 million (2,043 TEU). This was exactly 2 per cent more than in 2007, the previous record year, when Kombiverkehr was the first European operator to ship more than one million consignments. „Given the crisis mood across the world, we can be satisfied with the result“, said Robert Breuhahn, General Manager of Kombiverkehr. The evidence to date indicated that Kombiverkehr’s broad base was giving it more shelter from the crisis than other companies – and that is set to remain the case in 2009 as well. The company has a relatively low proportion of hinterland container services, which have suffered particularly sharp declines at just about every seaport. The customers act for a wide variety of sectors of industry. Moreover it is an advantage that the company is still having a strong pillar in national transport within Germany in addition to the international services, as Mr. Breuhahn emphasised. He expects a recovery in demand in the second half of the year. Kombiverkehr has reacted to the current decline in demand, with greater flexibility in its range of services. The strategy is not to lose entire services, but instead just to reduce the frequency of departures of some individual trains. Mr. Breuhahn: “This allows us to continue offering our customers the alternative to pure road transport that they need even in the present situation.“ Quelle: Österreichische Verkehrszeitung |