Analytics, Cargo, Latvia, Statistics, Transport

Freight traffic on land decreases

Freights carried by land and pipeline transport decreased by 6.6%, while freight turnover dropped by 11.1%.The volume of freights carried by rail reduced by 7.8 mln tonnes or 14.1%, whereas freight turnover in rail transport dropped by 16%. The volume of freights carried by road grew by 0.8 million tonnes or 1.3%, while freight turnover decreased by 3.1%. The volume of oil products transported via the main oil products pipeline reduced by 1.1 million tonnes or 23.3%, whereas freight turnover dropped by 23.3%.

Freight traffic and freight turnover of land and pipeline transport

*Freight turnover of land and pipeline transport is calculated in tonne-kilometres by summing up the products of the weight (tonnes) of each batch of freight transported and the transportation distance (in kilometres) thereof. Tonne-kilometre (tkm) – unit of measure of freight transport, which represents the transportation of one tonne of goods over a distance of one kilometre.

Freight turnover decreases at ports, while increasing at the airport

In 2016, freights transported to and from Latvian ports accounted for 63.1 mln tonnes, which is 9.3% less than a year before. This is the lowest result since 2010, when freight turnover at ports amounted to 61.2 mln tonnes.

Freights transported to and from Latvian ports, million tonnes

There were 56.2 mln tonnes of freights shipped from ports, which was 10.1% less than a year before. The reduction in the volume of freights shipped was mainly caused by a decrease in the volumes of coal and oil products loaded onto ships – a drop of 26.8% and 12.1%, respectively. A drop was also recorded in the volume of shipped timber and wood – of 1.4%. In turn, the volume of shipped grain and grain products grew by 6.8%, mineral fertilisers – by 15.2%, goods in containers – by 8.7%, and roll on/ roll off – by 8.3%.

The volume of freights received at ports reduced by 1.7%. This was mainly due to a 19.5% drop in the volume of bulk cargo unloaded from ships. The volume of oil products unloaded at ports increased by 16.8%, whereas the volume of received and unloaded goods in containers and roll on/ roll off remained at the level of the previous year: volume of goods in containers dropped by 0.5%, whereas roll on/ roll off increased by 0.7%.

In 2016, Riga International Airport received and shipped 19.5 thousand tonnes of cargo, which was 4.2% more than in 2015.

Less passengers carried by land transport, whereas more by sea and air transport

In 2016, 244.7 mln passengers were carried by land passenger transport, which was 1.9% or 4.7 mln passengers less than in 2015. The number of passengers carried has not experienced significant changes since 2010, although it has been decreasing slightly since 2014.

Compared to 2015, the number of passengers carried by rail transport increased by 0.9% in 2016, whereas the number of passengers carried by regular bus traffic lines decreased by 1.1%, and the number of passengers carried by urban electric transport reduced by 3.7%.

In 2016, 657.7 thousand passengers arrived at and departed from Latvian ports with ferries, which was 9.2 % more than a year before.

Passengers arriving at and departing from Latvian ports via passenger ferries, thsd passengers

There were 71.4 thousand passengers who arrived at the Riga Passenger Terminal via cruise ships – 3.3% more than in 2015.

In 2016, there were 5.4 mln passengers who arrived at and departed from the Riga International Airport, which was 4.6% more than the year before. Out of them, 2.8 mln passengers arrived at and departed from the Riga International Airport via Latvian airlines – 8.3% more than during the previous year. The largest passenger turnover at the Riga International Airport was with German airports – 0.84 mln passengers (increase of 8.5%), British airports – 0.79 mln passengers (9% more) and Russian airports – 0.56 mln passengers (22.8% more).