Interpipe expands logistics of railway products for distant markets

The Ukrainian industrial company Interpipe is expanding the logistics of railway products for distant markets using motor vehicles, feeder ships, and ocean container ships. This was announced by Oleksiy Yanovsky, the company’s director of procurement and logistics, CFTS reports.

The company’s products go through several logistical stages before being delivered to distant markets. In particular, the first segment of transportation – to the ports of Bulgaria and Romania – is carried out mainly by road in container ships. This is because customers have extremely high quality requirements for railway products.

“Therefore, we do not risk unnecessary overloading and letting the wheels stay near sea water for too long. In addition, the volume of such transportation is relatively small for us, so we are fully able to ensure delivery by road on time and at the best rates,” he explained.

At the same time, the resumption of container ship calls to the ports of Greater Odesa allowed the company to use this tool as well. In particular, Interpipe transports railway products by sea in containers on the Chornomorsk-Konstanta route.

At further stages, the company uses the services of container lines, including Maersk, MSC, or Akkon.

“Flights are operated according to a specific schedule, most often once a week. The route depends on the final destination. Most often, it goes through Port Said, then, if we are talking about the Middle or Far East, through southern Africa (bypassing the Houthis in the Red Sea) to Singapore. And then – by small feeder vessels to the ports of destination,” added Yanovsky.

At the same time, another major market for Interpipe’s rail products is the United States. Logistics in this area has improved after the opening of the Ukrainian Black Sea corridor. As Oleksandr Garkavyi, director of the company’s railway products division, noted earlier, the company still largely uses ports in neighboring countries for shipments, but the situation with exports directly from Ukrainian harbors has objectively improved.

“We have tested a new route from Chornomorsk to Houston (USA) by loading a bulk carrier with pipes and wheels. As of today, it is a working route,” added Garkavyi.

Despite the challenges of wartime and the proximity of Interpipe’s facilities to the frontline, the company is making every effort to deliver its products to customers around the world. This, in turn, helps to increase production and provide jobs for residents of the cities where the company operates, as well as contributions to the country’s budget.

Recently, for the first time in its history, Interpipe started operating a vessel on a time charter. In this way, the company puts into practice the use of its own vessels instead of traditional chartering. Currently, this vessel makes feeder deliveries from Odesa to the port of Varna, and also delivers products to the Georgian port of Poti, from where they are sent to the company’s customers in the CIS countries, in particular, in Central Asia.