Ukrainian Railways increased iron ore export shipments by 50.5% y/y in September

In general, the railway operator increased freight transportation by 3% y/y for the month

In September 2023, Ukrainian Railways (UZ) increased export transportation of iron and manganese ore by 50.5% compared to September last year – up to 1.453 million tons. Compared to the previous month, railway transportation of iron ore increased by 5.8%. This is stated in UZ press release.

In general, during the month, the railway operator increased freight transportation in all modes by 3% compared to September 2022 – up to 12.03 million tons. Compared to August, the volume of transportation decreased by 2.2%. In domestic traffic, 7.89 million tons of cargo were transported, which is 35.5% more year-on-year.

«September cargo transportation showed a slight increase in the overall volume, however, for objective reasons, we have negative indicators of export transportation, in particular transportation of strategically important grain cargoes. UZ once again emphasizes the readiness of transportation of all necessary volumes and calls on partners from neighboring countries to jointly develop railway logistics between countries and strengthen business relations», comments a member of UZ board Vyacheslav Yeromin.

Export transportation by rail in September 2023 decreased by 31.2% compared to September 2022 – to 3.58 million tons. In particular, the export of grain decreased by almost three times – to 1.07 million tons. Iron ore accounts for more than 40% from the total volume of export shipments.

Import transportation of goods by railway in September 2023 amounted to 518.5 thousand tons, which is 18% less than in September 2022, transit – 43.2 thousand tons, which is almost 2.3 times more year-on-year.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022 Ukrainian Railways reduced transportation of iron and manganese ore by 59.2% compared to 2021 – to 41.7 million tons. Volumes of transportation of ferrous metals last year decreased by 57.8% y/y – to 9.2 million tons. In total, during the year UZ transported 150.6 million tons of cargo, which is 52.1% less compared to 2021.