Every year increasingly more Lithuanian transport services are exported to European Union (EU) countries. According to the preliminary data of the Bank of Lithuania, during the first three months of 2022, quarterly export of transport services to the EU accounted for 80% (5.43 billion euros), in the corresponding period of 2021 – 74% (4.04 billion euros). Last year, the export of transport services to the main markets grew rapidly: to Germany – 29%, to France – 28%, to the Netherlands – 54%, to Denmark – 25%, and to Austria – 50%.
In the context of the export markets of the country’s transport services, Russia and Belarus continue to occupy lower positions. Last year, the export of these services to Russia fell by 10.5%, to Belarus – by 63%; these countries occupied the fourth and seventeenth positions in the list of markets, respectively. For comparison, in 2014, Russia occupied the first position and Belarus the third position.
“The changing geopolitical situation due to Russia’s war against Ukraine is promoting an increasingly rapid reorientation of Lithuania’s transport sector from East to West. This is noticeable not only in the field of road transport, but also in railway and seaport operations. The Lithuanian Railways has started to regularly transport freight from Kaunas to Duisburg in Germany, a new freight route to Trieste in Italy and the intermodal Amber Train connecting the three Baltic states on the Šeštokai–Riga–Tallinn route have been tested. The Port of Klaipėda, which is connected by a direct connection to the eastern coast of the USA and the seaports of other countries, is considering new cargo and passenger shipping lines between Klaipėda and Stockholm”, said Marius Skuodis, Minister of Transport and Communications.
According to preliminary data, last year, compared to 2021, cargo transportation by all types of transport in Lithuania decreased by 17% (145 mln. t). This was greatly influenced by Russia’s war against Ukraine, restrictions on cargo flows due to sanctions, increased inflation and prices of energy resources. Last year, cargo transportations by road transport decreased by 7% (105 mln. t), by rail – by 39% (31 mln. t), by inland water transport – increased by 19 % (8.71 mln. t), through the country’s airports – increased by 4% (21.3 thousand t). Cargo loading in the Port of Klaipėda and Būtingė decreased by 17% (44.3 mln. t). It should be noted that the decrease in cargo in the railway sector and in the Port of Klaipėda was lower than forecast at the beginning of last year.
36.1 million tonnes of cargo were loaded in the Port of Klaipėda last year, i.e., 21% less compared to 2021. Loading of ore (-92%) and fertilizers (-77%) decreased the most, however, the loading of containers has increased by 57%, with more than 1 million TEU (standard container units) loaded. In this regard, Klaipėda surpassed the ports of Saint-Petersburg and Riga, where the loading of containers decreased by more than half. In addition, the amount of gas imported through the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal increased significantly, and as the construction of wind farms became more active, a significant number of wind turbines was transported through the port.
Last year, the Lithuanian aviation sector recovered the most, returning to pre-pandemic levels after the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to 2021, last year, the passenger flow at Lithuanian airports more than doubled – from 2.5 million up to 5.35 million passengers (+116%). Direct flight destinations increased from 94 to 98, beating the pre-pandemic 2019 record of 92 destinations.
This year, the transport sector will face similar challenges as last year. As the economy slows down and consumption declines due to the forecast economic recession and the war in Ukraine, cargo will decrease, transportation costs will increase, and the profit margin of carriers will decrease accordingly. However, there is also a positive trend that inflation in the transport sector is decreasing faster than in the country as a whole – last December it amounted to 14%, and in January of this year it decreased to 12%. Accordingly, the total inflation of the country’s economy was 22% in December and 20% in January.
