In the first quarter of 2012, goods carried by land and water transport declined by 0.4% compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, according to seasonally adjusted data published by Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute (NSI).

The transport performance, which is the result of the actual distance on which the goods are transported, also registered a 1.9% drop.

The transported passengers by land, water and urban electrical transport declined by 2.8% and the transport performance - by 6.7%, compared to the previous quarter.

In the first quarter of 2012, the transported goods decreased both in national and international carriages by 1 453.5 thousand metric tons or by 7.0%, compared to the corresponding quarter of 2011.

The decline was due to national transport, where the drop was 18.5%, while the transported goods in international carriages rose by 16.3%.

At the same time, transport performance rose by 653.9 million t/km, or by 10.8% because of the larger average distance travelled in international carriages. The growth in the transport performance in the international carriages was 14.2%, while in the national carriages it fell by 0.4%.

During the first quarter of 2012, transported passengers by railway and bus were 127 528.6 thousand or by 0.4% more than the corresponding period of the previous year. An increase was observed in international carriages, which rose by 23.0%.

Transported passengers by the bus transport increased by 1 455.8 thousand or by 1.2%, while those transported by railway dropped by 904.9 thousand or by 12.7%.

The transport performance measured in passenger-kilometers was 2 768.3 million p/km or by 0.9% less. The decline was mainly due to the railway transport, where the drop was 10.7%.

Goods transported by water transport in the first quarter of 2012 fell by 38.1%, compared to the corresponding quarter of 2011. A decline both in maritime and inland waterway transport was observed.

In maritime transport, which in the reference quarter has performed only international carriages, the decline was 55.4% and in inland waterway transport it was 13.4%.

Transport performance measured in ton-kilometers also registered a 33.2% drop, compared to the first quarter of 2011. In maritime transport, the decline was 33.9% and in inland waterway transport it was 25.2%. It was due not only to the volume of transported goods, but also to the less average distance travelled.

The number of the transported passengers by water transport during the first quarter of 2012 was also 28.3% down, compared to the same period of the previous year, which was mainly due to the inland waterway transport.

Transported passengers by maritime transport rose by 43.5%, but because of their low share of the total passengers carried that did not influence the final trend.

At the same time, the transport performance increased by 50 thousands p/km or by 18.5% in comparison with the first quarter of 2011. The growth is due to the increased average distance travelled by transported passengers via maritime transport.

In the first quarter of 2012, the passengers transported by urban electrical transport were 72 371.0 thousand. In comparison with the corresponding quarter of 2011, transported passengers decreased by 0.2%.

The transport performance measured in passenger-kilometers also registered a 1.4% drop compared to the corresponding period of 2011. All types of urban electrical transport registered a decrease – in the trolleybus transport it was 0.7%, in the tramway transport - 1.1% and in the metro carriages - 2.1%.

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