CARGO BUSINESS 3-09.indd - ZSSK Cargo

Similarly unfavorable trends can be noticed in the construction
industry. The slowdown in the performance of the road and highway
construction program is most unsettling to the company, as it
influences the decline of the amount of shipments of aggregate and
other construction materials. Furthermore, the economic cooldown
resulted in reduced energy demand, which translates to smaller
shipments of bituminous coal, which makes up half of the total
number of shipments serviced by PKP Cargo. In Q1 of this year,
the company noted a nearly 1/3 fall in the number of shipments in
comparison to a similar period from 2008.
2) Last year, before the manifestation of any symptoms of the
economic crisis, the Board of PKP Cargo decided to perform
necessary and thorough changes to company operations, especially
in the area of cost optimization. These changes aimed to transform
the Company into a fully-functional and competitive player on the
domestic and international railway shipping markets.
In the course of the restructuring process, over 5.5 thousand of
employees and a part of rolling stock of PKP Cargo were re-allocated
to companies handling passenger traffic within the PKP Group. The
number of facilities was reduced from 42 to 16, as the Company
consolidated previously separated tasks of trading and maintenance
in the remaining centers. Efforts to boost comprehensive introduction
of computer systems within the Company were increased as well; and
the Company had reduced its reserves and rationalized its purchases.
A number of employees were transferred to newly-created companies
within the PKP Cargo Group, which are now handling rolling stock
repairs, thus allowing for the performance of repairs in the Group’s
own supplementary facilities. Employment restructuring processes
have been initiated in agreement with trade unions, in effort to reduce
the number of employees by over 15 thousand people within the year.
All of these actions have undoubtedly limited any negative effects of
the economic crisis on the PKP Cargo.
However, the Company does not intend to focus on cost-cutting
measures. Even in the face of recession, PKP Cargo is determined to
acquire new customers and conclude new contracts. These actions
are aided by new, flexible and pro-business policies, which were
created to simplify the Company‘s procedures in this scope and
facilitate negotiations with our customers. In addition, the Company
is entering into new fields of business, which were previously left
reserved for its private competitors, including comprehensive handling
of railway sidings near mines and power stations.
3) Although signs of economic enlivenment in Poland are now visible,
the segments PKP Cargo is most concerned with remain without
any significant improvement. Although an increase in the number
of shipments performed by the Company is a trend that had been
maintained for a few months now, this is not a result of acquiring
a new cargo stream, and is owed instead to the Company‘s market
expansion and takeover of cargo from its competition.
Furthermore, there are limitations hampering the development of the
railway market that continue to exist in Poland. These limitations, such
as high rates for rail access and the generally bad condition of the
railway infrastructure, effectively discourage the use of rail. This, in
consequence, decreases the competitiveness of rail in comparison to
road transportation. With a less than optimal economic demand and
the shrinking volume of available cargo mass, the sharp increase in
competiveness between carriers and struggles for each cargo load is
not surprising.
Furthermore, one should note that the Polish market sees the
introduction of new, international cargo carriers, who enjoy a large
transportation potential and broad capabilities for financing their
operations, as well as easier access to European cargo operators.
The Polish industry of railway cargo transportation has its chance
for development in the investments concerning construction and
expansion of container and transhipments terminals. These terminals
will allow the carrier to provide a comprehensive and quality offering,
enable further development of intermodal shipments, and facilitate
cooperation with road carriers so as to provide a comprehensive
„house to house“ service. One should also expect further alliances
between the largest railway operators, as strong equity is necessary to
survive on the market and successfully compete with road transport.
Imre Kovács
CEO
MÁV CARGO Zrt., Maďarsko / Hungary
1) Tak ako ostatní nákladní železniční operátori, aj MÁV Cargo pocítilo
silné dopady hospodárskej krízy. Našťastie niektoré tovary ako
poľnohospodárske produkty alebo drevo už vykazujú nárast produkcie
a my sa tomuto pomalému rastu ekonomiky prispôsobujeme.
2) Samozrejme. Nepretržite monitorujeme zmeny na trhu tak, aby
sme boli schopní promptne reagovať. Mimo toho je nevyhnutné
sledovať našich konkurentov a vykonávať konkurencieschopné ponuky
a nepoľavovať v akvizičnej činnosti. Akvizičná činnosť spočíva najmä
v rozvíjaní a rozširovaní produktového portfólia a optimalizácii služieb.
Navyše bolo oveľa jednoduchšie zvládnuť problémy na strane nákladov
vďaka našim zamestnancom, ktorí akceptovali manažmentom
navrhnuté dočasné zníženie mzdy na 5 mesiacov.
3) Vzhľadom na sezónnosť by mal byť druhý polrok už lepší. Počítame
s pozitívnym vývojom ekonomiky už budúci rok a od roku 2011
predpokladáme, že nákladný železničný trh by mal tento vývoj
ekonomiky nasledovať.
1) Similar to all the other rail freight operators, MÁV Cargo Zrt. has
also been heavily affected by the economic crisis. Luckily certain
fields such as agriculture or timber are already showing improvement,
so our colleagues are already catching up with the slow upturn of the
economy taking into consideration good production and the extended
delivery period.
2) Naturally. We are continuously monitoring market changes to be
able to react prompt. Besides, it is inevitable to follow our competitors
to keep our competitive offers and one should never stop new
acquisitions. For this latter, continuous development and extension
of the service palette with optimalisation of the services is essential.
Moreover, thanks to our employees, on the cost side the difficulties
were very much easied by them when they accepted temporary wage
reduction that the management proposed for 5 months.
3) Because of seasonality, the second half should be already better.
We calculate with a positive economic upturn already next year, and
from 2011 we forecast the rail freight market to follow the economic
upturn.
Spracovali/ Executed by: Jana BARČIAKOVÁ, Václav WICHER