Germany leads in locomotive exports
Germany remained the leader in locomotive exports, with foreign sales of 676 million dollars in 2021.
The amount represents an increase of 14.4% with both 2020 and 2019, because in these last two years exports were the same, of 591 million dollars, according to data from the German Federal Statistics Office.
From the perspective of the Union Pacific Corporation (UPC), while current forecasts for industrial production indicate continued economic growth, uncertainties with the Covid-19 pandemic and the economy are expected to continue in 2022.
How governments and consumers react to virus resurgence, mutation, and vaccine mandates could cause or contribute to customer disruptions, a prolonged recovery period, restricted labor availability, or an economic downturn general current levels.
Disruptions to UPC customers’ supply chains caused by the pandemic or other factors may continue to affect its shipments.
In addition, other factors such as changes in monetary policy can affect economic activity and the demand for rail transport; natural gas prices, weather conditions and demand for other energy sources may affect the coal market; crude oil price differentials can drive demand for petroleum products and drilling materials; available truck capacity could affect intermodal business; and international trade agreements can promote or hinder trade.
Locomotive exports
Business results during 2021 continued to be impacted by the effects of the pandemic.
Among the most notable were supply chain problems in the automotive industry due to shortages of semiconductor chips and congestion in various parts of the intermodal supply chain.
Furthermore, the pandemic also disrupted the intermodal supply chain, as demand for consumer goods remained high.
High demand negatively affected ports, chassis availability, supply of truck drivers and warehouse receiving capacity.
These disruptions limited UPC’s revenue growth by slowing asset turnover and increasing costs through slower freight car speeds and multiple container handling that impeded its operating efficiency.
Rail car loading was also affected as adjustments made to compensate for limited inland hauling and storage capacity changed traffic patterns, causing international intermodal shipments to decline.
The German Association of the Railway Industry (VDB) achieved a record turnover of 7.3 billion euros in the first half of 2021.
