While total inland freight volumes increased by 2.9% to 4.5 billion tonnes (656.9 billion tonne-km), almost all of the traffic gained went to road hauliers.
The share of the total carried by rail fell by 2.4% to 364.9 million tonnes, with distance travelled remaining static at 112.6 billion tonne-km.
The drop in rail freight volumes is attributed to extensive strike action which affected Germany's largest rail freight operator DB Schenker, particularly in October and November.
