Two years of recession in Germany are leaving its mark on rail freight. One of the affected companies is Frankfurt-based logistics company Kombiverkehr, which recorded a 5 per cent volume loss in 2024. However, the company also sees some positivity in last year’s results.
“The economic weakness in Germany and Europe is not without consequences for freight and intermodal transport”, the logistics company says. Kombiverkehr transported around 780,000 containers, swap bodies and semi-trailers, amounting to approximately 1,5 million TEU. That is about five per cent lower than 2023.
Domestic shipments shrunk by three per cent to a total of 180,000. Kombiverkehr’s international business declined twice as much, at minus six per cent. The company transported a total of 600,000 shipments internationally.
A positive perspective
The company evidently tries to look at the challenges positively. It says that it “has held up relatively well” considering the circumstances. Kombiverkehr’s managing director Armin Riedl says that the economic downturn “has far exceeded the dimensions of the 2008/2009 crisis”.
Besides the bad economic situation, Germany’s rail network is undergoing a general overhaul. That leads to frequent disruptions and delays, making rail freight a less viable transport option. Trains were cancelled 10 to 15 per cent of the time, Kombiverkehr says. A five per cent decline in volumes against that background is not that bad, is the message.
The logistics company also celebrates newly launched products. It strengthened transport corridors to and from Rotterdam, Spain and Scandinavia. It launched a new service between Rotterdam and Cologne, as well as between Antwerp and Irun (Spain). Another train between Duisburg and Hallsberg (Sweden) started running from 1 January, and later in 2025 a train between Lübeck and Verona was introduced.