07/2020

Cifras INE

The fall of transport

foto de portada

The slowdown in economic activity as a result of mobility restrictions has particularly affected the transport sector.

The loss of passengers during the second quarter of 2020 in air transport was the highest in the EU compared to the same period of the previous year (61.6 million fewer passengers). In domestic public transport the number of passengers has almost halved in the first eight months of the year (-48.0%). The fall as also been felt in the road freight transport (-11.2% less tons in circulation), particularly for oil products.

In this general panorama of falls, the relativity Good performance of postal and Courier activities stands out, with a recovery in August 2020 at the level of the pre-pandemic situation.

Sources: INE (Services Sector Activity Indicators, Transport of passengers statistic, Structural Business Statistics: Services Sector y Statics on Products in the Services Sector), Spanish Ministry of Transports, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Road Freight Transport) y Eurostat.

Subir Strong impact on all transports

The impact of restrictions according to activity

In the first quarter of the year and especial in the second, activity indicators in the service sector showed historic falls in turnover, with transport being among the most affected services.

Within transportation, air transport suffered the most pronounced fall, and postal and courier activities suffered the least intense and recovered the best from June.

 

Tabla UE viajeros por avión
Gráfico del iass

The largest loss of air passengers of all the EU

With regards to passenger air transport, Spain experienced during the second quarter of the year the third largest fall in relative terms (-98.5%) and the first one by the difference in passengers compared with the same period last year (61.6 million less), followed by Germany (59.0 million) and France (44.2 million). There are still data from some Member States (Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Malta, Poland, Romania and Sweden) that are not yet complete.

Among the non-Member States, the losS of the United Kingdom stands out (73.6 million fewer passengers).

Subir Half as many travellers as in 2019

Inland passenger transport loses almost half of its users

During the firts eight months of the year, the number of passengers on all public transport has almost halved (-48.0%) compared to the same period last year, according to the Passenger Transport Statistics.

The largest losses of passengers are recorded in special and occasional transport (which includes school and work buses) and domestic air transport (both with figures close to -59%). The loss in regular urban transport by bus (-46.3%) and metro (-46.7%) is somewhat lesser, but also very significant.

Variaciones por tipo de transporteFoto nterior de autobús
Foto de interior vagón metro

Regional differences

During the first eight months of the year, regular urban bus transport recorded its biggest drop in the number of passengers in Catalonia (49.0% less) and the smallest in the Canary Islands (37.9%), with an average loss of -46.3%.

In the cities that have a metro, the highest loss of passengers in this means of transport was observed in Seville (-52.1%) and the lowest in Bilbao (-40.6%).

Subir Less goods in circulation

Most goods travel by road

The effect of mobility restrictions due to the pandemic has not only been felt in passenger transport, but freight transport has also seen lees activity.

In Spain, 95% of goods circulate by road compared to an EU average of 75.3%. The lack of inland waterways and a lower use of rail (5% compared to 18.7%) explain the greater weight of road in Spain.

Statistics produced by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda on road freight transport show an average drop of 11.2% in the number of tons transported during the second quarter compared to the same period last year.

Gráfico de variaciones de mercancías por tipo de productoFoto camión de productos petrolíferos
Foto carretera para página de mercancíasGráfico por tipo de desplazamiento

Increase in goods between third countries

The fall in goods movements has been somewhat greater in internal transport tan in international transport (-11.3% compared to -10.7%). And within the interior, the fall was greater in intra-municipal goods (-14.6%) and less in the movement of goods between regions (-6.94%).

On the international side, imported goods fell by -21.3%, while they increased among third countries (7.2%).

In terms of type of goods in circulation, the greatest fall was recorded in Oil products (-33.1%) and in Machinery, vehicles, manufactured objects and special transactions (-16.0%). Food products and fodders experienced the smallest fall (-3.1%), followed by Agricultural products and live animals (-6.8%).

Subir Quick recovery of postal services

Good behavior during the pandemic

Postal and Courier activities have been characterized these first months of the year by an equally rapid decline and a following recovery. Furthermore, the recovery has been sustained over time, with figures in August even higher than in December of the previous year.

Unlike other services, these activities have been able to benefit from the momentum of e-commerce during times of biggest mobility restrictions.

foto para página de correosTabla UE ocupados en servicios postales
Gráfico de servicios postales del iass

Urgent transport concentrates turnover

Data from the Structural Business Statistics: Service Sectors, 15,1761 companies had postal and mail activities as their main activity in 2018. The majority (84%) had less tan two employees, although their turnover only represents 4% of this Branch of transports. Very few companies (0,1%) had 250 or more employees, but these accounted for 68.3% of turnover.

Regarding the type of goods, acording to the Statics on Products in the Service Sector, in 2018, urgent transport of documents and parcels up to 20kg represented the majority of the total turnover of companies (69.3%), followed by non-urgent transport of parcels up to 20 kg (17,0%).

Less employees than in other countries

In 2019, employment in these services had a lower weight than in other countries from Spain’s environment.

On average, it stands at 39.6 employed per 10,000 inhabitants aged 15 and over within the EU. At the top of this ranking are the Czech Republic (60.1), Hungary (54.8) and Slovenia (50.8). Spain is at the bottom (29.5 employed per 10,000 inhabitants) only above Portugal (19.0), Cyprus (21.1) and Greece (23.5).

34.5% of these employed are women in Spain, below the EU average (41.8%).

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