Domestic volumes saw a 2.4% fall, while the picture was even worse for international traffic originating in Germany, which dropped by 3.3%. However, this was offset by strong growth in inbound international traffic, which increased by 6.3% compared with the first half of 2012.

There were similarly mixed results for individual sectors, with strong declines in agricultural products, including timber and cereals, which fell 13.8% and consumer products (including foodstuffs) which dropped 12.8%. Intermodal traffic dipped 0.7% year-on-year to 3.1 million TEU. However there was a strong recovery in bulk materials (including coal and oil), which increased 8.3%.