Statistics Explained

Archive:Railway equipment production statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1

This Statistics Explained article is outdated and has been archived - for recent articles on structural business statistics see here.

Data from January 2009. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.


This article belongs to a set of statistical articles which analyse the structure, development and characteristics of the various economic activities in the European Union (EU). According to the statistical classification of economic activities in the EU (NACE Rev 1.1), the present article covers railway equipment production, corresponding to NACE Group 35.2, which is part of the transport equipment sector. The activities covered in this article are the manufacture of:

  • railway locomotives and rolling stock;
  • tramway locomotives and rolling stock.
Table 1: Manufacture of railway, tramway locomotives, rolling stock (NACE Group 35.2). Structural profile: ranking of top five Member States in terms of value added and persons employed, 2006

Main statistical findings

Structural profile

Table 2: Railway equipment (CPA Group 35.2). Production of selected products, EU-27, 2007 (1)

Value added generated by the 1.1 thousand enterprises classified to railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock manufacturing (NACE Group 35.2) in the EU-27 was EUR 7.1 billion in 2006, equivalent to a 3.6 % share of the transport equipment manufacturing (NACE Subsection DM) total. The workforce in this sector numbered 164.8 thousand persons, equivalent to 5.2 % of the transport equipment manufacturing workforce.

Slightly more than one quarter of the EU-27’s value added was accounted for by Germany (26.7 %), followed by France, the United Kingdom and Spain each with more than 10 % of the EU-27 total. The workforces in this sector in Romania and Poland were the second and third largest within the EU-27, smaller only than in Germany. Romania was particularly specialised in railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock manufacturing, as this sector contributed 0.5 % of total value added within the Romanian non-financial business economy in 2005, a share that was more than four times as high as the EU-27 average.

Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock manufacturing saw output in the EU-27 fall sharply in 2000, since when output expanded most years. Average output growth between 2000 and 2007 was 2.3 % per year, boosted by strong growth in 2002 and most recently in 2007.

Expenditure and productivity

In 2006 gross tangible investment in the EU-27's railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock manufacturing sector was equivalent to 6.6 % of value added, giving this sector the lowest investment rate among the subsectors of transport equipment production. The labour-intensive nature of this activity was reinforced by the high proportion of operating expenditure devoted to personnel costs which was 24.2 % compared with a transport equipment manufacturing average of 15.9 %. Average personnel costs in the EU-27's railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock manufacturing sector were EUR 31.8 thousand per employee, above the non-financial business economy average, while apparent labour productivity was EUR 42.8 thousand per person employed, below the non-financial business economy average. The EU-27 wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio of 134.4 % was in line with the transport equipment manufacturing average (133.3 %), and therefore well below the non-financial business economy average (151.1 %). Slovakia and Portugal (2005) both recorded low wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios in this sector, while Spain was the only Member State[1]; to record a wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio in this sector above its average for the non-financial business economy.

Data sources and availability

The main part of the analysis in this article is derived from structural business statistics (SBS), including core, business statistics which are disseminated regularly, as well as information compiled on a multi-yearly basis, and the latest results from development projects.

Other data sources include the PRODCOM statistics on the production of manufactured goods.

Context

The transport equipment manufacturing sector is central to economic development, as it provides the means for transporting both individuals and goods. Demand for transport equipment has risen as the volume of goods transported and the distance travelled by passengers have expanded greatly – see the article on [Transport and storage statistics] for information on transport flows.

The issue of sustainable development is likely to play an important role in future product developments, as transport equipment manufacturers try to meet demands for more environmentally friendly transport solutions, for example, engines with lower fuel consumption or emissions.

Most transport equipment manufacturing activities are structured on the basis of complex pyramidal relationships between major manufacturers and several tiers of component suppliers, ranging from systems suppliers down to very small, specialised manufacturers that may provide a single component for a vehicle. It is common to find clusters of enterprises concentrated in regions around the leading producers.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Main tables

Database

Dedicated section

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Latvia, Poland and Portugal, 2005; Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Austria, not available.
Retrieved from "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Archive:Railway_equipment_production_statistics_-_NACE_Rev._1.1&oldid=197541"