Ukrainian Railways reduced container freight traffic by 15% y/y in January-August

Ferrous metal transportation amounted to 32.28 thousand DFE, which is 21% of the total freight turnover

In January-August 2025, Ukrainian Railways (UZ) reduced container freight traffic by 15% compared to the same period in 2024, to 151.89 thousand TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units). This was announced by Valery Tkachov, Deputy Director of the Commercial Department of Ukrainian Railways.

The structure of transportation by type of connection/direction is as follows:

• export – 92.06 thousand TEU (60% of total container freight turnover);
• import – 42.12 thousand TEU (28%);
• domestic – 17.72 thousand TEU (12%);
• transit – 0 TEU (0%).

The leader among cargoes in terms of container transport volumes is grain (26% of total transport volumes) – 40.02 thousand TEU. Ferrous metals accounted for 21% of transportation, or 32.28 thousand TEU, oilcake – 15.47 thousand TEU (10%), oil – 11.32 thousand TEU (7%).

Overall, the situation on the intermodal transport market remains dynamic and sensitive to changes in the structure of demand. Whereas grain cargoes used to dominate, ferrous metals are now taking the lead. This indicates a transformation in cargo flows and a search by businesses for more efficient logistics solutions. At the same time, the railway industry is adapting to the new conditions by expanding its customer base and offering new services in order to maintain its position in a competitive environment.

As GMK Center reported earlier, at the end of 2024, Ukrainian Railways increased intermodal container transportation within Ukraine by 28% compared to 2023, to 258.18 thousand TEU. The main nomenclature of cargo in 2024 is distributed as follows: grain cargo – 46% – 101.8 thousand TEU (+17.9% y/y), ferrous metals – 20% – 43.04 thousand (+42.3%).