Volume of freight fell 4.8% in 2008

The volume of freight and the distance covered by the goods last year dropped 4.8% and, respectively, 1.1% compared with 2007, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting the National Bureau of Statistics. According to the Bureau, the railway, road, fluvial and air companies in 2008 transported 16.163,7 million tonnes of goods or 95.2% of the volume of freight conveyed in 2007. The volume of railway freight fell by 7.2%, of air freight – by 17.0%, of road freight – by 0.1%. But the volume of goods transported by fluvial units rose by 21.3%. The distance covered by the goods transported by trains decreased by 7.8%, while by planes – by 7.5%. But the distance covered by the goods conveyed by trucks and fluvial units of transport increased by 10.7% and 24.1% respectively. Last year, the road companies transported 4.963,2 million tonnes of goods. The companies working in the municipality of Chisinau conveyed 61.7% of all the road freight, those working in Balti -10.5%, in Orhei district – 10.1%, in Anenii Noi district – 4.0%, etc. As many as 10.997,7 million tonnes of goods had been transported by trains last year. The cement and other building materials made up 48.7% of the goods loaded into freight cars at train stations in Moldova, ferrous metals and scrap iron – 20.8%, grains and bakery products -10.5%. The number of passengers transported by buses and minibuses rose by 6.4%, while by planes – 14.1%. The number of passengers conveyed by fluvial units of transport fell by 11.9%. 10.9801,7 million passengers were transported by buses and minibuses, a 6.4% increase year on year. The planes transported 473,900 passengers, while the fluvial units of transport – 105,000 passengers.