Freight forwarders and forwarding agents are at the heart of transport companies' concerns, as they are the ones who determine the modes of transport to be used.
Eurogroup Consulting, in partnership with AUTF, GNTC, TLF, OFP, CGF and SNCF Réseau, publishes the Barometer of shippers' perceptions of rail and combined transport.
Presented as part of the European Rail Freight DayThe 2022 edition of the Barometer gives a voice to shippers and assesses their perceptions of rail and combined transport.
The elements of this Barometer are updated each year to define trends and thus offer a vision to the players in the sector. The elements of analysis for the 2022 edition are based on data from 2021 and the assessment of the 1st half of 2021. Based on the information gathered, we can draw up an assessment of the modal split favored by shippers for transporting their goods, and of the clarity and satisfaction of the rail offer. These considerations point to trends in rail freight over the next few years.
MODAL SPLIT: ROAD TRANSPORT STILL IN THE LEAD
Road transport remains the leading mode of transport for all sectors combined. The panel declares a lesser use of conventional rail transport, particularly for consumer goods representatives.
The modal share of combined road/rail transport is holding steady, and even increasing in some sectors, confirming the trends of previous years, with an increase of 10 points in agriculture and 7 points in aggregates and building materials.
RAIL ORGANIZATION
Railway companies maneuver in the conventional sector
For the organization of their flows, 58% of the companies in the panel are in contact with railway companies, a result down sharply compared with 2021 (-25 points).
Road and combined-vehicle operators take the lead in combined flows
- For combined flows, 42% of the panel used road transport (down from 2021 (-6pts))
- Combined transport operators become shippers' second point of contact (27% of them), whereas in 2021 it was the railway companies.
Drivers of rail freight development
- 77% of the panel say they are asked to transport their goods by rail. The proportion of shippers who consider themselves to be frequently solicited has almost doubled: from 16.67% to 30.77%.
- As in the previous year, rail companies are the ones most in demand from shippers.
- Compared to the Previous barometer, solicitations by combined transport operators increased by 11 points.
THE LEGIBILITY OF RAIL SERVICES
The rail system is easy to understand
- 62 % of the panel find the organization of rail freight understandable and comprehensible (including 8% entirely)
- These results support the trend initiated in recent years: an increase of 4 points compared to 2021.
A poor match between shippers' needs and supply
- 27% of the panel felt that the conventional rail offer meets its needs.
- The match between supply and demand for the combination is falling sharply compared to 2021: only 12% of shippers on the panel consider it to be suitable, compared to 39% the previous year.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND SERVICE QUALITY
Hazard management and access to contacts continue to improve
The trend is the same as last year: hazard management, access to those in charge of organizing flows, and cost remain the three criteria that improved the most over the year for rail freight.
Data is at the heart of the innovative services offered and expected by shippers
- Far fewer shippers were offered innovative services in 2022 than in 2021: only 31% of them, a drop of 17 points. The provision of data and the traceability of goods remain the most important elements.
- We can note encouraging results in terms of environmental innovationIt was cited by 22% of the panel's shippers (versus 7% last year).
- In the future, goods traceability and data availability will also be the services most eagerly awaited by shippers.
MODAL SHIFT AND PROSPECTS FOR RAIL TRANSPORT
Combined road-rail transport remains the preferred mode for modal shift
The top three criteria for modal shift are reliability, financial competitiveness and flexibility. If "global competitiveness and CSR approach" is down in 2022, the environment becomes the fourth criterion for the 2022 panel.
The energy crisis has had an impact on most shippers and their transport choices.
- 55% of shippers consider that the energy crisis has had a medium or high impact on the rail transport of their goods.
- 38% of them consider that they have been heavily impacted. Half of these are companies with sales between €20 and €200 million.
- The majority of the panel, 73.8%, claim that rising energy prices have had an impact on their choice of transport.
Transport outlook for the coming years
- Loaders are 38% to display prospects for increased use of conventional rail transport in the next two to three years (down 5 points on 2021). The majority of respondents do not know.
- Outlook for growth in combined road/rail transport remains stable compared with last year.
