Number 4/2015, July 2015

Transcription

1 Number 4/2015, July 2015 COMPANY 1. Successful appearance at the transport logistic show financial year: Kombiverkehr holds its own in spite of difficult circumstances 3. Start of modified online booking on 15 July New executive appointments in International Transport SERVICES 5. Timetable arrangements from 3 August 2015 to 30 August 2015 (summer and Assumption Day) 6. Analysis of the market for a direct train between Duisburg and DK-Hirtshals 7. Line closure in Denmark from 13 July 3 August 2015 FORMALITIES / LEGAL NOTICE 8. Expiry of transition period for ADR / RID IMDG labelling DATES 10. Shareholders meeting 2016 Attachments: Timetable arrangements from 3 August 2015 to 30 August 2015 (summer and Assumption Day)

2 COMPANY 1. Successful appearance at the transport logistic show Looking back on our appearance at this year's transport logistic show in Munich, we would like to express our sincerest thanks to all customers, partners, service providers and prospects who helped to make our presence at the show a success again this year. Thank you for your visit, the informative dialogue and new contacts. The contact person for trade shows is: Kombiverkehr, Head of Corporate Communications & Sales Support, Jan Weiser Phone / , Fax / or jweiser@kombiverkehr.de financial year: Kombiverkehr holds its own in spite of difficult circumstances The 2014 financial year at Kombiverkehr KG was marked by difficult circumstances. The central themes of the shareholders' meeting, which is held in Frankfurt am Main at the end of June every year, were the strikes by GDL train drivers, economic trends in Germany and the eurozone, weatherrelated factors and different transport policy frameworks, which are currently having a serious impact on the cost of rail freight transport and consequently of Combined Transport as well. In spite of all the more difficult conditions, Kombiverkehr has managed to hold up well: we have been able to keep the network stable, maintain our market leadership within Europe and lay the foundations for more growth by expanding services. Although the Frankfurt-based limited partnership recorded a 1.4 per cent drop in its transport result with a total of 924,694 truck consignments transported (one consignment corresponds to the capacity of a goods vehicle) or 1.85 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit), the company exploited existing opportunities for growth in individual transport corridors and even significantly improved the result in these country-specific sub-segments. The total quantity transported is broken down into 268,375 truck consignments (-9.1 per cent) or 536,800 TEU in National Transport, including Baltic Sea transport from and to Kiel, Lübeck and Rostock with connecting services to Scandinavia and the Baltic States, and 656,319 truck consignments (+2.2 per cent) or 1.31 million TEU in International Transport, which has thus grown for the second year in succession. At million euros (+1.9 per cent), the country achieved the highest sales in its history in the last financial year. 2

3 3,700 truckloads covering an average of 787 kilometres Freight forwarding customers shifted an average of 3,700 truckloads per day of transport in the form of containers, swap bodies and semitrailers from lorries and ships onto the railways, thus making a vital contribution to national and European environmental targets. The railway cuts harmful carbon dioxide by two thirds compared with end-to-end road transport, so emissions fell by more than one million tonnes of CO2 in 2014 as a result of transporting shipments in the Kombiverkehr network. Forwarding volumes fell slightly in 2014 by 1.0 per cent to million gross tonnes. Transport output amounted to a total of billion tonne-kilometres, a decrease of 0.8 per cent on the previous year. The average distance per consignment carried recorded a slight increase, rising from 785 kilometres in 2013 to 787 kilometres now. Strikes have a particularly adverse impact on national transport The volume of transport in Germany, where Kombiverkehr connects economic centres with over 65 intermodal services on a daily basis, was affected in the second half of the year by strike action taken by the GDL train drivers' union after the previous progress of transport volumes in a half-year comparison turned out to be at the same level as overall economic development. Strike announcements alone made many forwarders bow to pressure from carriers in the industry by turning away from the railway and moving consignments that we had succeeded in gaining for the railway back onto the roads. Kombiverkehr ended the 2014 financial year with 27,020 fewer consignments transported within Germany compared to the previous year (295,395 consignments). In order to cope with demand in national transport, Kombiverkehr introduced a new direct train service between the port of Rostock and Duisburg, which also has the additional job of relieving the pressure on the short shuttle service between Hamburg and Rostock. An upward trend in volumes also made it possible to increase the frequency of services on the route between the BASF terminal in Ludwigshafen and Skandinavienkai in Lübeck from five to six departures a week in each direction over the course of the year. 3.1 per cent increase in west European transport With west European transport managing to become established as Kombiverkehr's second-busiest transport axis for the first time in the 2013 financial year, transport services to and from Benelux, France and the Iberian peninsula maintained this position with another overall increase to a total of 138,545 truck consignments (+3.1 per cent) or 277,000 TEU during the past financial year. The growth was generated in bilateral services with the Netherlands (70,616 consignments, +1.0 per cent, 141,200 TEU) and Belgium (9,367 consignments, per cent, 18,700 TEU), but mainly by a really positive result with 47,923 containers and semitrailers transported (+6.8 per cent, 95,800 TEU) between Germany and Spain/Portugal. This upward trend also compensated for the 4.2 per cent fall in the volume of consignments transported between Germany and France. The opening of lines for the transport of trailers with a corner height of four metres will provide new impetus in this corridor. 3

4 Italian transport bucks the economic trend Kombiverkehr's busiest transport axis also managed to chalk up an increase in the volume of consignments over the past financial year. A total of 404,884 truckloads or 809,800 TEU were transported by rail between Germany and Italy/Switzerland on the Brenner (-0.5 per cent), Gotthard (+8.0 per cent) and Tauern (+10.0 per cent) routes. This represents an increase of 15,078 consignments or 3.9 per cent compared with the previous year. In order to cater for the increased demand for transport on the transit route through Switzerland in the future, Kombiverkehr and its partner Hupac upped the number of departures on the route between Duisburg-Ruhrort Hafen and Milan from five to six a week in each direction. Departures on the Rostock Novara route through the Lötschberg base tunnel were also increased from three to four. Since the start of 2015, the port of Lavrio in the Attica region situated around 60 kilometres south of Athens has been linked to Kombiverkehr's network by ferry via the Trieste hub. Quality offensive in east European transport Kombiverkehr recorded a drop of 1.1 per cent to 97,688 consignments (195,400 TEU) in east and southeast European transport in After a disproportionate fall in 2013, this area of business was more or less stabilised with its vital services between Germany and Austria, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, the Balkan states, Turkey and Greece. The current price differences between road and rail continue to have an effect on the volume of growth due, for example, to the low price of diesel and the cheaper costs of east and southeast European drivers. The performance of the railways was and is crucial to the success of these transport services, but it failed to meet the requirements of the forwarders at times during the past financial year. In January 2015, Kombiverkehr and the service provider DB Schenker Rail responded by switching production within traction services to and from Poland and the Czech Republic. Since then, traction for shipments to and from Gadki and Lovosice has been provided by the Group's own subsidiary RBH Logistics GmbH. This comes from a single source and operates end-to-end across national borders, which has already led to sustained improvements in services. Expansion of services on fixed link In the 2014 financial year, the focus of northern European transport, which Kombiverkehr provides for the most part with partner companies via integrated rail-ferry combinations, was on the fears of customers from the forwarding and logistics sector that the prices of intermodal transport would increase as a result of significantly stricter sulphur emissions requirements for shipping in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Fuel costs, which have been extremely low for some time, cushioned the feared consequences, however. There was nevertheless a demand for alternative means of transport to the sea route. Kombiverkehr responded to this as early as January 2015 with a new route via the fixed crossing. Malmö, Göteborg and Stockholm can now be reached several times a week from Köln- Eifeltor by shuttle train across the Öresund Bridge. 4

5 Rising costs as a result of one-sided transport policy frameworks Even though everyone knows that the train is by far the most environmentally friendly and safest mode of ground transportation, it is not currently receiving the support that it actually deserves. Quite the opposite, in fact: rail freight transport is increasingly hit by a series of new and disproportionate charges. Over time, this means that railway services are no longer able to compete with road haulage. At the moment, this negative trend is also being driven by low fuel costs and a reduction in tolls for road transport at the beginning of the year. Already in 2014, statistics showed that all modes of transport shared in the growth in freight transport - apart from the railway. "The constant burden of new regulations, an annual increase in line prices, rising energy costs in the wake of the Renewable Energy Sources Act and the investment in low-noise braking systems for wagons and train safety systems for locomotives mean that costs are skyrocketing on the railways." Rail transport companies and operators are unable to offset these additional charges over the long term. A reduction in energy and line costs is absolutely essential in order to remain competitive as a provider of rail freight transport compared with other modes of transport. Further information can be obtained from: Kombiverkehr, Head of Corporate Communications & Sales Support, Jan Weiser Phone / , Fax / or jweiser@kombiverkehr.de 3. Start of modified online booking on 15 July 2015 The modified, secure and user-friendly online booking system will soon be available via the mykombiverkehr application on This makes it easier to book loading units in Kombiverkehr's European network and it is a useful addition to the existing B2B booking via XML interface. After a successful pilot operation with existing customers, the application will go ahead on 15 July There are plans to make online booking mandatory for all customers of Kombiverkehr at a later date. Once the launch has been completed, the existing online booking process on will be discontinued. All users will be informed in good time before the changeover. Background information and everything you need to know about the registration process for the online booking system can be bound at > Services > Booking. For enquiries relating to online booking, please contact: Kombiverkehr, Manager National Transport, Dirk Dillenburger Phone / , Fax / or ddillenburger@kombiverkehr.de 5

6 4. New executive appointments in International Transport Two executive posts in International Transport were filled on 1 July The main contact for transport to and from Scandinavia and the Baltic States is now Ulrich Bedacht. Following him as the new manager of East European transport is Marijo Pesic, who has spent many years as a Transport Support Officer for Eastern Europe in International Transport, where he supervised shipments to and from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Trieste (Italy) and Turkey. Contact details at a glance: International Transport, Manager Northern Europe & German Baltic Sea Ports, Ulrich Bedacht Phone / , Fax / or ubedacht@kombiverkehr.de International Transport, Manager East and Southeast Europe, Marijo Pesic Phone / , Fax / or mpesic@kombiverkehr.de If you have any questions, please contact: Head of Sales, Peter Dannewitz Phone / , Fax / or pdannewitz@kombiverkehr.de SERVICES 5. Timetable arrangements from 3 August 2015 to 30 August 2015 (summer and Assumption Day) Please note the timetable arrangements for summer and Assumption Day (arrangements from 3 August 2015 to 30 August 2015). This information was last updated on 2 July 2015 and is duly attached. You can obtain an updated version of these timetable arrangements at any time from the download area at and by registering for mykombiverkehr, which allows you then to use the online Personal timetable booklets application. For more about registering, go to > Transport > Personal timetable booklets. Timetable information concerning trains offered in cooperation with HUPAC Intermodal can be obtained on the website at Timetable > Train circulation schedule (updated daily) or in the file that can be downloaded at Timetable > Holiday regulations. 6

7 Any questions can be answered by: Kombiverkehr, Operations, Team Leader Scheduling, Markus Engel Phone / , Fax / or 6. Analysis of the market for a direct train between Duisburg and DK-Hirtshals Kombiverkehr is currently investigating the possibility of launching a direct train service between Duisburg and Hirtshals in Denmark. Five departures per week in each direction are being considered. From Hirtshals there will then be a connection to Norway using the ferries of ferry operators Color Line and Fjord Line. If you are interested in the above route, please contact: Kombiverkehr, International Transport, Manager North European Transport & German Baltic Sea Ports, Ulrich Bedacht Phone / , Fax / or ubedacht@kombiverkehr.de 7. Line closure in Denmark from 13 July 3 August 2015 The direct Köln SWE-Malmö service via Denmark will not run in the period from 13 July to 3 August 2015 due to a line closure. Shipments for Sweden and Norway can alternatively be booked via Lübeck. We will be happy to send you the relevant terms and conditions for this route. As things stand, the direct Hamburg DK-Taulov v.v. service will continue to run with five departures per week and direction, but there may be longer transit times. There will be no departure from Hamburg on 8 August 2015 or from DK-Taulov on 10 August You will be informed separately if there are any further changes. For enquiries relating to this, please contact: Kombiverkehr, International Transport, Manager North European Transport & German Baltic Sea Ports, Ulrich Bedacht Phone / , Fax / or ubedacht@kombiverkehr.de 7

8 FORMALITIES / LEGAL NOTICE 8. Expiry of transition period for ADR / RID 2013 Please be advised that the transition period for applying ADR / RID 2013 expired on 30 June This means that ADR / RID 2015 (with the exception of any transitional regulations pursuant to 1.6 ADR / RID) must now be applied. Please take note. For further information please contact: Kombiverkehr, Manager Hazardous Goods & Waste Transports, Ullrich Lück Phone / , Fax / or ulueck@kombiverkehr-gefahrgut.de 9. IMDG labelling In light of recent event, we must remind you that placards (labels) on containers that are also being transported by ship pursuant to IMDG must be attached in such a way that they can withstand seawater at least for three months (-> IMDG). If you have any questions, please contact: Kombiverkehr, Manager Hazardous Goods & Waste Transports, Ullrich Lück Phone / , Fax / or ulueck@kombiverkehr-gefahrgut.de DATES 10. Shareholders meeting 2016 The date for next year's shareholders' meeting has now been fixed. It will be held in the Sheraton Frankfurt Congress Hotel (Lyoner Straße in Frankfurt) on 29 June Representatives of forwarding companies, railway operators, associations, politics and terminal operating companies will also have the opportunity to meet up the evening before, on 28 June 2016, to exchange ideas with the members of the administrative board, the management team and our staff. Your contact person for the shareholders meeting is: Kombiverkehr, Assistant to the Management, Ursula Illgen Phone / , Fax / or uillgen@kombiverkehr.de 8