Carriers report cargo volume increase

In January -February 2007, the rail, air and auto transport enterprises shipped 2 mln tonnes of cargo, which exceeds by 153,900 tonnes (+7.9%) the level of the corresponding period in 2006. According to the National Statistics Bureau, the covered distance maintained the level of the respective period. In the abovementioned period, about 1.6 mln tonnes have been transported by train. This is just a 0.5% increase, compared to the similar period last year. About 408,100 tonnes, by 55% more, were shipped by auto transport. The public transportation enterprises have shipped only 2,300 tonnes of the total cargo volume, the rest being carried by the private, joint and foreign enterprises, while the private ones contributed 343,400 tonnes. About 170 tonnes of goods, which is a 41.7% increase, were conveyed by air. The distance covered by road transport and air enterprises rose 18.8% and, respectively, 54.5%, while that covered by railway transport reduced by 5.9%. By groups, ferrous metals (31.6%), construction materials and cement (21.9%), grain and baked goods (16.5%) accounted for the largest volumes.