In the crisis year of 2009, Hupac recorded a two-figure drop in traffic for the first time in its’ over forty-year history. The volume of road consignments transported fell by 13,5% to 607.284 road consignments (some 1,2 million TEU). The Shuttle Net accounted for 98% thereof with 597.286 consignments (1.194.572 TEU), down 12,9%, and the rolling highway accounted for close to 10.000 consignments or close to 20.000 TEU, down 39,5%. The transalpine volumes reached 406.946 consignments (813.892 TEU), down 13,6%, although there was a 52,3% increase in the transalpine volumes via Austria from 13.843 to 21.082 assignments (42.164 TEU).

After around a 25% fall in traffic in the first quarter, the trend stabilised over the course of the year. In the last few months of the year, the figures even rose slightly. “Overall, we fell back to 2006 volumes”, explained Hans-Jörg Bertschi, chairman of the board of Hupac. Nevertheless, Hupac should be satisfied with the achieved result “In comparison with other modes of transport, we have got off lightly.”

Hupac has quickly become at home with the new market situation. The frequency of trains was adjusted to meet the lower demand, although without harming the performance of the transport network. Additional crisis measures included flexible resource planning with the railways, postponing lower priority investments, short-time working in the terminals and implementing an economy programme together with the rail companies and the Swiss Federal Office of Transport. “Hupac is standing on a solid footing”, emphasised Hans-Jörg Bertschi, at the terminal opening in Antwerpen. “We are looking ahead and investing in the future of combined transport.” In the last year, more than CHF 60 million (EUR 40,7 million) flowed into new rolling stock and terminal infrastructure. Investments of around CHF 30 million (EUR 20,4 million) are also planned for 2010.

Despite the crisis, Hupac has continued to extend its transport network. A range of new connections between Antwerpen and Spain/Portugal were incorporated into the offering in April 2009. Poland traffic was expanded at the end of July with a new link between Schwarzheide (Dresden) and Katy Wroclawskie (Wroclaw). Romania is also a new addition to the Shuttle Net: August saw the start of a link with four weekly departures between Budapest and Curtici near Arad, which is soon to be extended into the Ploiesti industrial region. New products will also be added to the North-South axis in the coming months, such as the Köln - Novara link via Lötschberg for 4 m containers and the Antwerpen - Verona and Rotterdam - Verona connections. Another innovation for Hupac is the Busto - Barcelona link planned for April 2010.

Hupac only anticipates a certain improvement in the economic situation in 2010. The volume of traffic will remain below pre-crisis levels. “We will use the flood to ensure that the boat is fit for future challenges,” stressed Kunz. “We are rewriting our processes and improving the efficiency of our services.” New concepts are also planned for the management of the rolling stock fleet. Hupac has a workforce of 443 employees, and operates a network of more than 110 trains each day.