8. COMPANIES, EMPLOYMENT, TURNOVER, WAGES AND PERSONNEL COSTS

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• In the EU plus Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Switzerland, 5,486 IWW freight companies are registered with a total employment of 22,417 persons. In 2020, employment in the freight sector remained stable compared to 2019. Companies in the Rhine region account for 88% of the total number of companies and for 76% of the total number of persons employed. For the Danube region the figures are 4% (number of companies) and 15% (employment).
 
• Regarding the IWT passenger transport sector, 4,265 companies are registered with a total employment of 17,503 persons. Employment in the passenger sector decreased by -24% in 2020 compared to 2019, due to the Covid crisis. Companies in the Rhine region account for 44% of the total number of companies and for 64% of the total number of persons employed. For the Danube region the figures are 9% (number of companies) and 8% (employment).

 

    FIGURES 1 AND 2: DEVELOPMENT OF NUMBER OF COMPANIES AND EMPLOYMENT IN FREIGHT AND PASSENGER TRANSPORT IN THE INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT SECTOR IN EUROPE



    Source: Eurostat [sbs_na_1a_se_r2] and Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) (for the number of companies in Switzerland)

 

COMPANIES AND EMPLOYMENT IN FREIGHT TRANSPORT

  • According to Eurostat figures,51 5,486 IWW freight transport companies are active in Europe (EU-27 plus Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Switzerland). Around 88% (4,809 in absolute numbers) are registered in Rhine countries.52 In the Netherlands alone, 3,279 IWW freight companies are counted, which represents 60% of the total number in Europe and 68% of the number in Rhine countries.
  • The number of companies in Danube countries is relatively low (201 which is equivalent to a share of 4%), compared to the share that the Danube has within total transport performance on EU-27 inland waterways (18%). It should then be mentioned that companies in the Danube region have a far higher number of employed persons on average than companies in the Rhine region. Eastern European countries taken together (including Danube countries) account for 9% of all IWW freight companies in the EU-27, and southern European and Scandinavian countries account for 2% each.

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    FIGURE 3: NUMBER OF COMPANIES IN IWW FREIGHT TRANSPORT IN EUROPE *


    Sources: Eurostat [sbs_na_1a_se_r2] and Swiss Federal Tax Administration FTA
    * Data refer to 2020.
     

  • The number of employed persons in freight transport includes self-employed, helping family members and employees. The total number of this variable was at 23,753 in 2020. Rhine countries account for 76%, Danube countries for 15% and companies in countries outside the Rhine and Danube regions for 9%.

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    FIGURE 4: NUMBER OF PERSONS EMPLOYED IN IWW FREIGHT TRANSPORT IN EUROPE *


    Source: Eurostat [sbs_na_1a_se_r2]
    * Data refer to the year 2020.
     

  • It should be noted that figures obtained from national labour market institutions or from other national offices might differ substantially from figures obtained from Eurostat, due to different statistical labour market concepts. For cross-country comparisons, Eurostat is treated as the preferred source because data are harmonised across countries and are thus comparable.

 
 

COMPANIES AND EMPLOYMENT IN PASSENGER TRANSPORT

  • The number of IWW passenger companies in Europe (EU-27 plus Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Switzerland) was 4,265 in 2020.53 The geographical distribution shows that 44% of them are registered in Rhine countries. Southern Europe accounts for 28%, eastern Europe for 16% and Scandinavia for 10%. Danube countries are considered in this sense a part of eastern Europe. If they were counted separately, they would represent 9%. Although the total figure for 2020 was almost the same as in 2019, variations in the number of companies can be observed for major countries. The numbers decreased in Italy (-50), Germany (-59), Sweden (-20) and Switzerland (-8), due to economic problems during the Covid pandemic. In the Netherlands, the number was higher than the previous year (+45), while it remained almost constant in France (+2).54

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    FIGURE 5: NUMBER OF IWW PASSENGER TRANSPORT COMPANIES IN EUROPE *


    Sources: Eurostat [sbs_na_1a_se_r2] and Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA)
    * Data refer to 2020.

     

  • The total number of persons employed in European IWW passenger transport amounted to 17,503 in 202055 and was therefore -24% lower than in the previous year. The explanation for this decrease is the Covid pandemic, which led to a sharp decrease in passenger transport and had an impact on employment.

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    FIGURE 6: NUMBER OF PERSONS EMPLOYED IN IWW PASSENGER TRANSPORT IN EUROPE *


    Source: Eurostat [sbs_na_1a_se_r2]
    * Data refer to 2020 except for Hungary, Poland, Malta (2019), the Czech Republic (2018) and Austria (2014).

     

  • Around 64% of all persons employed in EU inland waterway passenger transport are employed in Rhine countries. The share of Danube countries amounts to 8%. Mediterranean countries account for 15% of employment, and Scandinavian countries for 6%.

 

TURNOVER

  • As sources for turnover figures, the Eurostat SBS database, the database of the Dutch Statistical Office CBS and the database of the Swiss Tax Administration are used.56 In all three cases, the amount of the value added tax is excluded. However, the definition of turnover according to the CBS differs from the Eurostat concept in some areas. For example, the Eurostat concept includes certain charges and taxes invoiced which the CBS concept does not include. As a result, the CBS figures are probably underestimated. The data for Switzerland are transformed from Swiss Francs to Euro, and the added value tax is excluded.

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    TURNOVER IN IWW FREIGHT TRANSPORT

    • In 2020, for IWW freight companies in the EU-27 (plus Switzerland and Serbia), a turnover of approximately 6.213 billion Euro was registered. IWW freight companies from Rhine countries counted a turnover of 5.500 billion Euro (share of 90%).

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      FIGURE 7: ANNUAL TURNOVER IN IWW FREIGHT TRANSPORT IN RHINE AND DANUBE COUNTRIES (IN MILLION EURO) *



      Sources: Eurostat [sbs_na_1a_se_r2], Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (NL), Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) and CCNR estimation based on data from Eurostat for France for the year 2019
      * The value for Dutch companies is an estimation based on net turnover data for the entire inland navigation sector in the Netherlands. Therefore, the statistical office CBS estimates that 92% of total turnover is related to freight transport. Value for Swiss companies was converted to Euro according to the yearly average exchange rate.
       

      TABLE 1: TURNOVER IN IWW FREIGHT TRANSPORT IN RHINE COUNTRIES IN 2020 (IN MILLION EURO) AND GROWTH RATE (IN %)

      20192020Growth rate (%)
      Dutch companies 3.3143.051-7.9
      German companies1.7151.658-3.4
      French companies n.a384n.a
      Belgian companies214222+3.9
      Swiss companies173185+6.4
      Rhine countries5,828 *5.500-5.6

      Sources: Same as Figure 7
      * Total value takes into account an estimated value for France in 2019.
       

    • Turnover generated in inland waterway freight transport companies registered in Danube countries amounted to 378 million Euro in 2020.

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      TABLE 2: NET TURNOVER IN IWW FREIGHT TRANSPORT IN DANUBE COUNTRIES IN 2020 (IN MILLION EURO) AND GROWTH RATE (IN %)

      20192020Growth rate (%)
      Serbian companies99109+10.1
      Romanian companies115107-6.7
      Slovakian companies7582+10.2
      Hungarian companies5248-7.9
      Bulgarian companies2929+2.8
      Croatian companies23+4.0
      Danube countries *372378+/-0.0

      Source: Eurostat [sbs_na_1a_se_r2]
      * Austria is not included in this table as the latest data available dates back from the 2017 Statistik Austria Structural Business Statistics (23 million euro).

       

    • Turnover of companies registered in European regions outside the Rhine and Danube region reached 167 million Euro in 2020. The countries with the highest turnover are Poland (44 million Euro), Italy (40 million Euro), the Czech Republic (27 million Euro) and Sweden (25 million Euro).

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      TURNOVER IN IWW PASSENGER TRANSPORT

       

    • Regarding the turnover in EU (plus Switzerland and Serbia) for IWW passenger companies in 2020, approximately 1.578 billion Euro was registered.
    • It is important to note that the following turnover figures include those generated by all passenger market segments (day trips, river cruises or ferries). For some countries, the turnover figures are based almost entirely on river cruise activities or day trip activities.
    • Despite considerable financial losses due to the Covid pandemic, Swiss passenger transport companies are still on rank 1 when it comes to turnover figures. Such high figures are almost entirely generated from the river cruise activity. Of the total European turnover, the share of Rhine countries is 72% and the share of Switzerland is 30%. As these data refer to 2020, a year that suffered substantial losses in this segment, an even higher share for Switzerland can be expected after the recovery from the Covid pandemic.

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      FIGURE 8: ANNUAL TURNOVER IN IWW PASSENGER TRANSPORT IN MOST RELEVANT COUNTRIES (IN MILLION EURO) *


      Sources: Eurostat [sbs_na_1a_se_r2], Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (NL), Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) and CCNR estimation based on data from Eurostat only for France for the year 2019
      * The value for Dutch companies is an estimation based on net turnover data for the entire inland navigation sector in the Netherlands. In this instance, the statistical office CBS estimates that 8% of total turnover is related to passenger transport. Value for Swiss companies was converted to Euro according to the yearly average exchange rate. Data unavailable for many countries.

       

      TABLE 3: TURNOVER IN IWW PASSENGER TRANSPORT IN RHINE COUNTRIES IN 2020 (IN MILLION EURO)

      20192020Growth rate (%)
      Swiss companies 1.220479-60.8
      German companies497284-42.8
      Dutch companies 288265-8.0
      French companies n.a90n.a
      Belgian companies3111-62.4
      Rhine countries2,378 *1.129-52.8

      Sources: Same as Figure 8
      * Total value takes into account an estimated value for France in 2019.
       

    • For companies in Danube countries, the existing data57 show significantly lower values than in Rhine countries. This can be explained by lower wage levels in Danube countries. Lower wages and therefore lower personnel costs imply lower total costs, especially in passenger transport which is quite labour-intensive. Lower total costs, in return, imply lower price levels and therefore also lower turnover figures.
    • As a second explanation, it should be recalled that large parts of the activities in passenger transport on the Danube, in particular river cruising, is carried out by companies from the Rhine region (see vessel data in the chapter on passenger transport).
    • Two countries in Europe outside the Rhine and Danube region with a considerable level of turnover in IWW passenger transport are Italy (202 million Euro in 2020) and Sweden (124 million Euro in 2020). It can be noted that for Italy, the turnover is almost entirely generated from the day trip activity. Both countries registered considerable losses in financial turnover due to the Covid pandemic. The turnover decreased by -54% and -67% respectively in 2020, compared to 2019.

     

    PERSONNEL COSTS AND WAGES

     

    • Eurostat SBS data show that annual personnel costs58 per employee are higher in IWW freight transport than in IWW passenger transport. For the average of Belgium, Germany and France,59 the average annual personnel costs in IWW freight transport were around 51,000 Euro per employee in 2020, compared to 24,000 Euro per employee in IWW passenger transport.
    • For eastern European countries, the ratio was 15,000 Euro per employee (freight transport) to 12,000 Euro per employee (passenger transport). These values also indicate that personnel costs per employee are at least twice as high in western Europe than in eastern Europe for passenger transport, and at least three times as high in freight transport. The missing data for the Netherlands and Switzerland make it difficult to indicate more precise relationships.
    • At the EU-27 level,60 the average was 44,000 Euro (freight transport) and 28,000 Euro (passenger transport). The higher average for the EU-27 compared to western and eastern Europe stems from the fact that Scandinavian countries such as Sweden play an important role in passenger transport, and the companies in this part of Europe pay the highest wages.
    • The most important part of personnel costs are wages. According to the Eurostat SBS database, the average share of wages within total personnel costs is 79% for IWW passenger transport and 80% for IWW freight transport in the EU-27.