Ukrainian Railways plans to transport 44 million tons of iron ore in 2025

Ukrainian Railways (UZ) plans to process 44 million tons of iron ore in 2025, which is only 2.3% more than in 2024, but 43% less than in pre-war 2021. This was reported by Rail.Insider.

The total volume of cargo transported this year is expected to reach 160 million tons, which is 49% less than in 2021 (315 million tons) and 7.5% less than the previous year. At the same time, in 2026, the railway plans to transport 161 million tons of cargo, which is 1 million tons more than this year.

The largest decline is recorded in the transportation of coal. In the period 2021-2025, a decrease in this group is expected at the level of 62%. The decline is due to the destruction of thermal power plants, the cessation of mining in the occupied territories, and a decrease in transit. Volumes have fallen from 72 million tons in 2021 to a projected 30 million tons this year.

The transportation of building materials has fallen from 50 million tons to 19 million tons. This reflects a significant slowdown in construction activity, except for critical infrastructure and defense needs.

Iron and manganese ore processing volumes fell due to the occupation and destruction of large metallurgical plants and disruptions in exports across western borders.

Grain transportation showed the lowest rate of decline in the period 2021-2025, at 9%. This segment proved to be the most resilient, declining only from 34 million tons to 31 million tons. This is explained by the high demand for Ukrainian food products and the intensive efforts of the Ukrainian Railways and the state to develop new logistics routes on the western borders and ensure the operation of “grain corridors.”

By 2027, the Ukrainian Railways expects transportation volumes to stabilize at 160-162 million tons. In particular, iron ore transportation will decrease to 42 million tons, grain transportation will remain at 31 million tons, construction materials transportation will increase to 32 million tons, coal transportation will remain at around 19 million tons, and other cargo transportation will increase to 38 million tons (36 million tons in 2025).

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2024, UZ increased the transportation of iron ore for export by 1.7 times compared to 2023, to 33 million tons. The transportation of ferrous metals increased by 13.7% y/y, to 5.17 million tons. The total volume of cargo transported increased by 17.9% year-on-year – to 174.9 million tons. In particular, export traffic amounted to 84.67 million tons (+51.2% year-on-year), and import traffic amounted to 9.63 million tons (+40.9%).