Analytics, Cargo, Estonia, Port, Railways, Transport

Both figures were higher than in 2016.

Statistics Estonia said that where in the past decade freight transportation by rail has been on a continuous decline, in 2017 an increase of 8 percent year over year was registered.

The rise mainly was a result of increased domestic shipment of freight, which totaled 18.1 million tons, 15 percent more than in 2016. Transit shipments totaled 7.6 million tons, imports 1.3 million tons and exports 300,000 tons. Transit shipments were down 5 percent on year, shipment of imported goods declined 7 percent and export shipments grew 24 percent.

Crude oil and oil shale account for over half of the freight carried by rail in Estonia, with domestic transportation of oil shale making up most of it now. Other significant categories of freight carried by rail include nitrogen compounds, fertilizers and liquid refined oil products. The share of wood and foodstuffs has become marginal.

In 2007, 66.1 million tons of freight was carried by rail in Estonia, including 27.5 million tons of transit freight. The statistics for the past three years has been similar to the beginning of the 1990s.

Russia has pledged to completely discontinue the export of oil products via Baltic ports by 2018. The shipment of oil products via Estonia has slowed down to a trickle already.

During 2017, 34.8 million tons of freight was transported via Estonian ports, 4 percent more than the year before. Both loading and unloading of freight at ports increased year over year.

Freight loaded onto ships totaled 23.5 million tons and freight unloaded 11.3 million tons in 2017, marking increases of respectively 4 percent and 2 percent over 2016.

Russia has been developing its own ports in recent years and directed freight flows that used to pass through Baltic ports earlier to ports in the territory of Russia.

The reduction in the amount of freight loaded at Estonian ports has been a result of the decline in transit shipments by rail, mostly when it comes to oil products. At the same time the loading of fertilizers, mixed cargoes and wood has increased. Unloading of freight at Estonian ports has grown mostly as a result of an increase in mixed cargoes.