1. Is the British rail freight market becoming more diversified? Dr Allan Woodburn Transport Studies Department University of Westminster, London
2. Study aim To investigate whether the rail freight market in Britain has been diversifying away from the traditional bulk commodity flows
3. Relevance of study Long-term decline in rail freight market share from 1950s to 1990s Shift from wagonload to trainload operation Simultaneous concentration on bulk commodities (e.g. coal, aggregates, steel) Led to limited role for and narrow focus of rail freight market – not much activity “downstream” in the supply chain General desire for rail to play greater role – sustainability reasons
4. A (very) simplified supply chain Declining importance in UK Increasing importance in UK Significant rail use Limited rail use
7. Composition of British rail freight market (1998-99 – 2010-11; freight moved) Source: ORR (2011)
8. Key trends in rail freight volumes Bulk commodities share increased from 59% in 1998-99 to 63% in 2010-11, but mixed pattern: Large increase in ‘coal’ from 1998-99 to 2006-07, with general decline since Decline in ‘international’, particularly from 2000-01 to 2001-02, with fairly minor fluctuations thereafter Year-on-year increase in ‘domestic intermodal’ since 2001-02, rising from 18 per cent of the market to 30 per cent Considerable decline in ‘other’ since 2003-04
9. Bulk share increased - no diversification? So, little structural change in the rail freight market since the 1990s? Some hints of change, particularly with growth in intermodal: Container traffic to/from deep-sea ports Containers and swapbodies through Channel Tunnel Containers and swapbodies on Anglo-Scottish corridor Limited evidence of diversification other than intermodal
11. Current rail freight use in the supply chain Declining importance in UK Increasing importance in UK Limited use Traditional rail freight Significant use Intermodal rail freight Limited use Significant use
12. Conclusions Key bulk sectors still dominate rail freight market Other flows in traditional wagons have been in (irreversible?) decline Intermodal volumes have grown by 60% since 1998-99 While not hugely significant in volume terms, evidence of some diversification
