European Combined Transport and UIRR Operators realised positive results in 2015: a 0.75% increase in consignments was coupled with a substantial 5.23% increase when measured in terms of tonne-kilometres, while UIRR, the industry association of the sector, increased its membership by adding four Operator and three Terminal members.
Longer distance unaccompanied CT turned a strong performance – especially when including intercontinental relations (towards Asia) – delivering growth of 7.6%. Shorter distance (domestic) CT-chains and Rolling Motorways (RoLa), on the other hand, suffered a contraction of around 5%. The average distance covered by a CT consignment expanded in 2015 to 882 kilometres.
“As the industry association of European Combined Transport, UIRR will continue to be the professional advocate, relentless promoter, competent developer and consistent supporter of the European CT sector in the years to come so as to catalyse the achievement of modal shift in longer distance European freight transport,” comments UIRR President Ralf-Charley Schultze.
UIRR inaugurated seven new members into the association: Ambrogio Trasporti (Italy), IMS (Austria), Rail Cargo Operator CSKD (Czech Republic), T3M (France) as CT Operator members, while Railport Arad (Romania), RCT BILK Terminal (Hungary), and ÖBB Infra’s Terminal Service Austria as CT Terminal members.
Founded in 1970, the International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport (UIRR) represents the interests of European road-rail Combined Transport Operators and Transhipment Terminal Managers. Road-Rail Combined Transport (CT) is a system of freight forwarding which is based on efficiently and economically inserting electric rail into long-distance (road) transport-chains through the use of intermodal loading units (ILU).
