Ukrainian Railways transported 17.1 million tons of iron ore for export in 1H2025

Transportation of ferrous metals amounted to 2.69 million tons

In the first half of 2025, Ukrainian Railways (UZ) reduced iron ore exports by 4.2% year-on-year to 17.12 million tons, according to the railway operator’s press service.

In total, ore transportation in January-June amounted to 22.79 million tons (-0.2% y-o-y).

Exports of ferrous metals during this period increased by 9.5% y-o-y – to 2.69 million tons (the total volume in the first half of the year amounted to 4.38 million tons).

In the first half of this year, Ukrainian Railways reduced freight transportation by 11.8% year-on-year – to 79.6 million tons. If this trend continues, the total volume for the current year will be approximately 50-52% of the volume prior to the full-scale invasion (2021).

The volume of export transportation in January-June fell by 13.5% compared to the same period in 2024, to 38.7 million tons, while imports increased by 5.4% year-on-year, to 5.3 million tons. Domestic transportation decreased by 11.7% to 35.5 million tons.

As GMK Center reported earlier, at the end of 2024, UZ increased iron ore exports by 1.7 times compared to 2023, to 33 million tons. Ferrous metal exports for the period increased by 13.7% year-on-year, 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, exports amounted to 84.67 million tons (+51.2% year-on-year), while imports amounted to 9.63 million tons (+40.9%).