Rail freight operator Baltic Express more than doubled its cargo volumes in the first seven months of 2017. Compared with the same period of 2016, the volume of cargoes carried by Baltic Express has grown by 163.6% this year. In the first three months of 2017, Baltic Express carried 3.4 times more cargoes than a year before.
“We have worked hard in a situation when Russia refuses to coordinate cargo transports on the railway to Latvian ports. We have successfully attracted cargoes in spite of obstacles that exist for cargo carriers in the border region and the so-called final mile,” said Baltic Express chairman Māris Bremze.
In the same period, other two Latvian cargo carriers – LDz Cargo and Baltic Transit Service – have suffered cargo declines. The biggest decrease in cargo transportation was reported by LDz Cargo, which carried 17,302 tonnes in the first seven months of 2017 (-15.1% compared to the same period of 2016). Baltic Transit Service carried 1.6% less than the year before.
Baltic Association – Transport and Logistics’s President Inga Antāne notes that companies part of the association do not feel much impact from cargo decline. The situation is critical in the entire industry, however. “When we turn to the head of the government, we voice our concerns about the state of Latvia’s second largest sector of the national economy, whose weakening could seriously impact the economic development of the entire country,” said Inga Antāne.
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