Interest in rail is “reaching new heights in the Nordics,” says APM Terminals Gothenburg, which is forecasting a record year for rail freight volumes at the Port of Gothenburg.
Although Q1 2024 rail freight volume figures in the Nordics overall are actually down year-on-year, APM Terminals says it is seeing higher demand on services to and from the Port of Gothenburg, and is now running 5 more freight trains per week compared to 2023.
To meet this demand, the Port of Gothenburg is expanding its rail freight links to new destinations domestically and internationally.
Growth in volumes at the Port of Gothenburg
Commenting on the growth of rail freight at the port, Per Wahlström, market analyst at APM Terminals Gothenburg, said:
“The remarkable growth of the Swedish container market during the first quarter of the year [container volumes increased by 8% to 242,000 TEU] was driven by strong exports of mainly forestry products, combined with an upturn in import volumes. Sustainability is becoming a top priority in procurement and rail solutions are not only environmentally friendly, but also economically beneficial.”
New rail freight destinations to and from the Port of Gothenburg
Wahlström added that both Norwegian and Finnish goods are now being handled in Gothenburg, and that the railway network has been expanded to destinations the port could “only dream of previously.”
During the first half of this year, APM Terminals in Gothenburg added four new destinations to its rail network in the shape of Oslo, Umeå, Bastuträsk and Haparanda. The new twice weekly shuttle between Oslo and Gothenburg, operated by CargoNet, is also expected to increase to five departures a week by the end of the year.
Record rail freight volumes anticipated
In a press release, APM Terminals said that “confidence in the railway network has never been greater” and stressed that the terminal in Gothenburg expects to add at least five new shuttle services in the second half of 2024.
According to Svante Altås, salesperson and railway expert at APM Terminals Gothenburg, 40% of the terminal’s rail capacity is still available. Altås also believes that volumes could hit new records, declaring: “I feel confident to say that we’re heading for a new record year.”
Q1 2024 figures show not all is rosy for rail freight in the Nordics
Although APM Terminals Gothenburg says that interest in rail is “reaching new heights in the Nordics,” the Q1 2024 figures on rail freight volumes in Sweden, Norway and Finland make for sobering reading.
According to Sweden’s official statistics office, rail freight volumes in the country declined over 20% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2023.
Meanwhile, in Norway, the decline was even more pronounced.
Statistics Norway’s website shows that an eye-opening 47% less goods were transported by rail in Q1 2024 compared to the same three-month period the year before.
Finland saw a decline in year-on-year Q1 rail freight volumes as well, with Statistics Finland reporting a 18% year-on-year fall in the first quarter of 2024.
APM Terminals’ case for rail freight enthusiasm in the Nordics
When asked for reaction to those Q1 figures, a Maersk spokesperson told Trans.INFO: “we have on average 5 more trains per week in 2024 compared to 2023, and the driver behind the growth in rail is the savings in CO2 emissions as well as the shorter lead times.”