Passenger transport recorded more rapid return to normality in February, more passengers and transport distances increased

The volume of goods carried in freight transport increased only slightly year-on-year, but it was a positive impulse after eight months of declines. In February 2022, the number of people travelled in public passenger transport increased more significantly year-on-year, and transport distances also increased, especially on the railways, but it is still only a slow catching up of the slumps caused by the pandemic.

In February 2022, freight transport slightly increased, after eight months of year-on-year declines. The total volume of goods transported at the level of 16.1 million tons reached by 0.3% higher value than a year ago, but it was still significantly less (by 12%) than it was realized during the last February before the covid (in 2020).

Public freight transport companies¹⁾, which have transport as their main business activity, increased the volume of goods transported by 3.5% year-on-year, but it was still less than in February before the pandemic. Public transport¹⁾ has accounted for more than 70% of the total freight transport in the long term.

Higher performance than a year ago was reached by companies transporting goods by rail, but key passenger transport fell year on year and still lagged behind the values two years ago.

Freight transport performance in tonne-kilometers (tkm), which also takes into account the transport distance, decreased by 0.8% year-on-year and was significantly lower compared to the pre-covid February 2020.

Passenger transport is only slowly catching up the slumps caused by the pandemic

In February 2022, significantly more (by 76.7%) people were transported by all forms of public passenger transport than a year ago, when the second wave of the pandemic culminated. A total of 42.5 million people were transported by public transport. However, compared to the last February before the pandemic (2020), the number of bus passengers was lower by a quarter and the number of rail passenger by more than a third.

Passenger transport performance in passenger-kilometers (also taking into account the length of roads) reached 472 million passenger-kilometers and exceeded the level of the previous year by 81.9%. However, they lagged behind the pre-pandemic level by almost half.

Development of turnover, employment and wages in February 2022

Turnover²⁾ in the transportation and storage rose by 18.5%, year-on-year, at current prices in February 2022. The significant growth was supported not only by high turnover related to the increase of prices of raw materials transported by pipeline, but also by higher turnover in other division of transportation, including posts and warehousing.

Employment in transportation and storage increased by 1.4%, year-on-year, in February 2022, but the number of employees in individual divisions of the section fluctuated. In postal and courier services, there was a decrease in the number of employees, the number of employees remained almost unchanged in warehousing and support activities and in land transport. Other divisions, in particular air transport recorded high year-on-year increases. Growths of the indicator were mainly influenced by the base effect, significant declines affected by the anti-pandemic measures were recorded a year ago.

The average nominal monthly wage in this section reached EUR 1,054, which was by 4.5% more than a year ago, in the second month of the year. Real wages in this section (after taking into account inflation) fell by 4.1%.