EEC sees growt
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DESPITE signs of an economic recovery, the EEC Commission forecasts for the fourth year running another drop in the volume of goods carried within the Common Market during 1983.
But compared to last year when there was a 1.2 per cent fall in business, the decline will only be slight 0.2 per cent.
The Commission says its pessimism is due to the continued crisis in coal and steel, which represents a high percentage of goods carried. The decline, however, will mainly hit the railways and inland waterways while road transport will show growth (plus 2 per cent).
The Commission expects that for the first time road hauliers will grab the biggest market share this year. By the end of 1983 Brussels forecasts that 43.1 per cent of the community's goods will be carried by road, 42.3 per cent by inland waterways and 14.6 per cent by rail. The reason for the declining role of the railways and inland waterways is their dependence on coal and steel traffic.
A study of expected traffic flows by all modes of transport between Britain and the rest of the EEC suggests the level of activity will be well above the EEC average. There is a forecast of a 2.4 per cent jump in outwardbound traffic and a 1.6 per cent rise in arrivals from the EEC.
The table below gives a picture of the way the transport of goods will be shared between EEC operators in 1983.
On the inward bound side, positive growth is expected in the Irish, Danish, Belgian, Dutch and UK markets. In two major markets, West Germany and France, the opposite situation holds. Inward tonnages are expected to decline in 1983 by one per cent in Germany and 1.5 per cent in France.
Forecasts have also been made of each country-to-country transport activity as well as the total figures given above.