UIRR Assembly Reviews 2023 Decline in Combined Transport Performance: Here's What You Need to Know

The General Assembly of UIRR came together in Brussels to oversee the formal closing of the 2023 business year of European Combined Transport. The year brought about a 10,57% reduction in the number of consignments transported and a somewhat smaller 9,39% contraction in the tonne-kilometer performance.

“The members of UIRR, looking for a way to regain the growth momentum necessary to achieve both business and public policy objectives, have set today a growth target of reaching 6 million consignments by 2030. The adoption of a policy expectations paper to reach this target will be the first task of the new Board of Directors,” announced UIRR Director General, Ralf-Charley Schultze.

The meeting of Combined Transport operator and transshipment terminal manager members of UIRR, complemented by representatives of technology partners and national peer associations and the Director General of DG Move Magda Kopczyńska, discussed the reasons behind the 2023 outcome and the challenges of today and tomorrow. The unfortunate mix of economic downturn, high inflation, war effects, strikes, natural disasters, accidents, and extensive works- and climate change-related disturbances, that simultaneously appeared over the year, were identified as the main causes of the disappointing result.

The assembly defined potential productivity gains inside the intermodal value chain to improve the attractiveness of Combined Transport. Measures were also discussed on how Combined Transport can support European resilience and competitiveness alongside the Green Deal.

Going forward, the European Combined Transport community was unified in the call for:

• More and better-quality train paths for freight trains,
• Effective crisis management by both the EU and individual Member States,
• Constructive completion of ongoing legislative dossiers, and
• Correct implementation of recently adopted EU law.

UIRR’s Board of Directors has been elected for a 3-year mandate 2024-27 as follows:

Class A directors of UIRR’s board are senior managers of Combined Transport Operators coming from throughout Europe. The Class B Director speaks for the terminal manager members. The constitutive meeting of the Board of Directors will take place this month to elect the Chair and Vice-Chair of UIRR.

Source: UIRR Press Releases