Significantly weak margin with European rail cargo transport
Study by SCI Verkehr: Europe’s rail cargo market about to be comprehensively consolidated and concentrated
A current study conducted by SCI Verkehr GmbH (Cologne) iluminates the unsatisfactory situation of European cargo transport on the railway: However transport performance of the railway companies have been rising again after the crisis in 2009, but adequate profit remains out of reach for Europe’s enterprises. The reasons therefore are the fierce competition in intermodal prices combined with often economically ruinous road freight traffic on the one hand, but also uneconomical structures of European cargo railways on the other hand. “European railway companies will have to face serious consolidation tasks and will be exposed to a continuous process of concentration during the coming years“, is the result of the study.
In 2011 about EUR 18 billion were turned over in European rail cargo transport. This figure is far below the high of about EUR 20 billion reached in 2008, but growth development since the 2009 crisis has been quite positive. However, development of the transport companies’ revenues stayed below the rise of transport performance since 2010, which aggravates the economic situation of the operators. “In spite of current streamlining programs cargo railway companies in European rail cargo traffic are economically inefficient – as opposed to North America“, the study reads.
The dominance of the public railway remains unbroken in spite of the large number of private competitors. Private competitors have gained considerable market shares in Europe since the start of liberalisation. However, big state railway companies were able to consolidate their market positions again by means of numerous takeovers of important competitors, such as Captrain who was taken over by Fret SNCF. Among the top ten according to turnover there is only one independent competitor – Freightliner, ranked 10th. Europe’s market leader by far is DB Schenker Rail.
Quelle: LogEastics
Portal: www.logistik-express.com