Society

Traffic development 2020

Chiasso, 3.2.2021    With around 1 million road consignments moved, the Hupac Group was able to keep the traffic volume just at the previous year's level. Due to the coronavirus crisis, however development fell short of expectations.

During the past year, the Hupac Group transported 1,014,686 road consignments or 1,913,000 TEUs, representing a slight decrease of 0.9% compared to the previous year. The main influencing factors were the slump in maritime traffic from overseas and the economic lockdown in Europe as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of the year. Traffic demand recovered in the second half of the year, so that, by the end of the year, the 2019 level was reached.

The consequences of the coronavirus crisis were particularly felt in transalpine traffic through Switzerland (-2.3%). In the April-June period, demand dropped significantly; nevertheless, Hupac maintained its network and thus made an important contribution to securing the logistics of vital goods. In the second half of the year, volumes returned to the previous year's level.

In non-transalpine traffic, the transport volume remained stable at 434,033 road consignments (+0.5%). While traffic to eastern and south-eastern Europe developed positively, other segments such as maritime inland traffic from the North Sea ports were more heavily impacted by the COVID effect.

"Given the extraordinary circumstances, we are satisfied with the traffic volume achieved," says Michail Stahlhut, CEO of the Hupac Group. "However, we had set significantly more ambitious goals." Public financial aid to overcome the coronavirus crisis is moderate. Hupac is therefore relying on additional measures to control costs and increase productivity. "We are aiming for the maximum possible train length – operationally and in terms of planning. Expanding the network to a standard train length of 740 m is our top priority – the sooner the better."

Hupac is off to a good start in 2021. For the first time, Hupac's entire transalpine network will be able to transport the large-volume 4-metre semitrailers. "We expect strong demand in this segment. With our transport offer, we are making a concrete contribution to Switzerland's modal shift policy and to the implementation of the European Green Deal strategy," says Stahlhut.