TRANSPORT VOLUMES DOWN AGAIN AT INTERCONTAINER-INTERFRIGO

TRANSPORT VOLUMES DOWN AGAIN AT INTERCONTAINER-INTERFRIGO    Intercontainer-Interfrigo, the large Switzerland-based European intermodal operator, reported another fall in traffic for 2001, and further financial losses.
   In 2001, the operator suffered a 13.2-percent drop in transport volumes to 834,894 TEU.
   “ICF had to cope with factors such as poor quality, disruptions due to accidents and bad weather conditions and strikes of all shapes and sizes,” the company said. These factors, combined with the loss of two major customer accounts, were the main reasons for the decrease in traffic volume.
   Including traffic handled by its affiliated companies, the Intercontainer-Interfrigo group carried 1.8 million TEUs last year, 9.8 percent less than 2000.
   Intercontainer-Interfrigo posted a net loss of about 500,000 euro (about $500,000) for 2001, as compared to a deficit of 1.2 million euro in 2000.
   Revenues dropped 8.6 percent, to 303 million euro ($268 million), from 332 million euro in 2000.
   The company said it improved its yield from services, as shown by the difference between the decrease in traffic volume (down 13.2 percent) and in revenues (down 8.6 percent).
   Intercontainer-Interfrigo said it plans to begin a new intermodal network in July. The X.net network will have its hub in Herne, Germany, and connect with existing train systems and the hubs at Metz, France, and Sopron, Hungary.
   “With new services such as the X.net, ICF is determined to halt the downward trend,” the company said.