Analytics, Cargo, Latvia, Port, Statistics, Transport

An increase in freight traffic on land

The volume of freights carried by land and pipeline transport increased by 13.6%, while freight turnover grew by 9%.There was an increase of 1.1 mln tonnes or 8.1% in the volume of freights carried by rail, whereas freight turnover rose by 13%. The volume of freights carried by road grew by 2.6 mln tonnes or 22.2%, while freight turnover increased by 6.7%. The volume and freight turnover of oil products transported via the main oil products pipeline reduced by 5.1%.

Freight traffic and freight turnover of land and pipeline transport, Q1 2017

*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 its transportation distance (kilometres). Tonne-kilometre (tkm) – unit of measure of freight transport, which represents the transport of one tonne of goods over a distance of one kilometre.

Growth returns to ports

In the 1st quarter of 2017, freights transported to and from Latvian ports accounted for 18.5 mln tonnes, which is 8.7% more than during the 1st quarter of 2016.

Freights transported to and from Latvian ports, million tonnes

There were 17 mln tonnes of freights shipped from ports, which is 8.8% more than during the 1st quarter of 2016. The increase in the volume of freights shipped was facilitated by a 1.7 mln tonne or 41.4 % increase in the volume of coal loaded onto ships, as well as a 17.5% increase in freights in containers loaded and a 10.7% increase in roll on/ roll off. There was a decrease in the volume of shipped oil products – of 13.6%, grain and grain products – of 15.8%, mineral fertilisers – of 5%, and timber – of 9.5%.

The volume of freights received at ports increased by 7.1%. This was mainly due to an increase in unloaded freight in containers (of 22.7%) and roll on/ roll off (of 7.6 %), as well as a 2.3% upturn in the volume of unloaded metals and articles thereof.

In the 1st quarter of 2017, Riga International Airport received and shipped 4.7 thousand tonnes of cargo, which is 3.8% less than in the 1st quarter of 2016.

Number of passengers carried starting to grow

In the first quarter of 2017, 60.9 mln passengers were carried by land passenger transport, which is 0.8% or 0.5 mln passengers more than in the 1st quarter of 2016.

The number of passengers carried by rail transport grew by 6.4%, the number of passengers carried by regular bus traffic lines increased by 0.8%, whereas the number of passengers carried by urban electric transport remained at the level of the previous year (a decrease of 0.1 %).

In the first quarter of 2017, there were 179 thousand passengers who arrived at and departed from Latvian ports with ferries, which is 20 % more than during the 1st quarter of 2016.

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

There were 1.8 thousand passengers who arrived at the Riga Passenger Terminal via cruise ships – 20.9% more than during the respective period of the previous year.

In the first quarter of 2017, 1.1 million passengers arrived at and departed from the Riga International Airport, which is 2.6% more than in the 1st quarter of 2016. Out of them, 0.6 mln passengers arrived at and departed from the Riga International Airport via Latvian airlines – 11.2% more than a year before