Estonian state-owned rail freight operator EVR Cargo hauled 15.76 million tons in 2014, remaining just 0.85 per cent or 135 thousand tons short of the 2013 freight volume.

EVR Cargo’s chairman of the management board Ahto Altjõe said that last year was a stable year for the company and was on a par with expectations. “We were just six wagons per day short of our 2013 result, which is a good result in these turbulent times,” said Altjõe. “EVR Cargo is expecting 2015 to be a challenging year due to increased competition and economic volatility in the entire region, but we aim to focus on particular niches and develop our strengths even further,” commented Altjõe.

The volume of container traffic in 2014 reached 72.017 TEUs, increasing 16 per cent year-on-year. The largest commodity group last year was mineral liquid fuels, which dropped by 5.7 per cent to 6.37 million tons. Fertiliser freight volumes increased by 12 per cent to 6.35 million tons. Oil shale volumes dropped by 5.6 per cent to 2.67 million tons. The transport volume of chemical goods increased by 6 per cent to 1.18 million tons.

Russia was the largest trade partner for EVR Cargo in 2014 with 8.08 million tons, increasing 9 per cent compared to 2013. Kazakhstan’s trade volume increased by 29 per cent to 1.76 million tons, while Latvian volumes dropped by 5 per cent to 1.33 million tons. Trade exchange with Belarus and Lithuania diminished respectively by 46 and 40 per cent to 612 thousand and 406 thousand tons. Transit volumes increased by 3.6 per cent to 10.63 million tons, forming 67 per cent of the total freight volume.