Editorial

Welcome to UNIFE’s new-look e-newsletter!

Looking back, 2008 has been a busy year for the rail sector.  Freight transport continues to grow and the ever-increasing demand from passengers for rail transport looks set to keep the order books of UNIFE members healthy for the foreseeable future.  The publication of our Worldwide Rail Market Study was a case in point and detailed the projected growth patterns across a range of rail supply manufacturing sectors.  And even despite the current global financial turmoil, it nonetheless seems to be a great time to be in the rail business.  The Innotrans convention in Berlin - the biggest rail industry fair in the world - this autumn proved this.  Almost 90,000 visitors passed through the turnstiles, up from 65,000 two years earlier and UNIFE was delighted to be a supporter of the event.  Environmentally sustainable, safe, green and quick - these are words which have become imbedded in the minds of people when they think of rail transport and the mobility opportunities it affords them.

Lately of course, the repeated question which we’re hearing daily is “how will the credit crunch impact on the European rail supply industry?” and, “are you sticking with the growth expectations of 2.5 to 3 percent per annum as expressed in the recent UNIFE Worldwide Rail Market Study?” Obviously, there are no simple answers, but suffice to say that one has to attempt to answer these questions in the overall global context.

We believe that the current storm on the financial markets will impact on the rail supply industry to certain extent: some orders may be postponed and some may not be awarded because of a lack of available financing – in particular where private financing has been mooted. However, with strong order books already in their back pockets, large parts of our industry are well equipped to sit out the storm. And even if order intake would slow in one quarter or two, a significant drop in turnover would unlikely follow suit. The rail supply industry is well known for its rather low volatility and its rather steady growth expectations. In the long run, the overall trend towards more sustainable transport systems will support this expectation, even if in the short-term the general economic outlook may look less exciting. The good news is that just now, the EU and some governments have decided to increase spending on transport infrastructure in order to boost their economies. UNIFE has been calling for policy makers to take quick action in this regard.

Finally, we look forward to producing an informative, interesting, and widely read newsletter. Complementing this e-newsletter is of course our UNIFE website www.unife.org, where you can find additional information on UNIFE’s work programme and hot topics.

We hope you will find this first edition of interest, and should you wish to know more, please get in touch with us.  And finally, let me wish all our readers a very happy upcoming holiday season and a prosperous 2009.

Michael Clausecker
UNIFE Director-General