Ukrzaliznytsia transported 1.42 million tons of iron ore in October 2022

In October 2022, Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) reduced the transportation of iron and manganese ores by 4.3% or 64.4 thousand tons compared to the previous month – to 1.43 million tons. Valery Tkachev, deputy director of Ukrzalitnytsia’s commercial work department, reports about it on his Facebook page.

Transportation of ferrous metals in October 2022 decreased by 9.2% or 63.8 thousand tons compared to September – to 628.5 thousand tons.

In total, Ukrzaliznytsia transported 12.06 million tons of cargo during the month. This is 380.1 thousand tons or 3.3% more than the volume of transportation in September. Grain transportation increased by 5.8% m/m – up to 3.6 million tons, cement – by 21.9% m/m, up to 288.6 thousand tons, coal – by 0.8% m/m, up to 2.21 million tons, and of construction materials – by 4.6%, up to 1.95 million tons.

Ukrzaliznytsia in September 2022 reduced the export transportation of iron and manganese ores by 28.6% compared to the previous month – to 1 million tons.  In January-September 2022, Ukrainian mining companies shipped 19.8 million tons of iron and manganese ores abroad by rail (-40% y/y).

In September 2022, Ukrzaliznytsia increased export shipments of ferrous metals by 35.7% compared to the previous month – up to 380,000 tons. In January-September 2022, Ukrainian steelmakers shipped 4.7 million tons of steel abroad by rail.

Since the beginning of the war, Ukrainian steelmakers have experienced difficulties in shipping finished products for export. The blockade of the ports forced to reorient the shipment of products exclusively to the railway. Because of this, the company’s logistics costs have increased several times and the delivery time has increased significantly. Border crossings could not cope with such an influx of railcars, due to which railcars with products stood in queues for weeks. After the opening of the grain corridor, the situation has improved, but remains tense.

In 2021, Ukrazliznytsia increased railways shipment of finished steel products by 5.9% compared to 2020 – up to 21.7 million tons. Export transportation increased by 3.8% by 2020 – up to 15.7 million tons.

In 2021, UZ reduced transportation of iron and manganese ores by 2.7% compared to 2020 – to 77.6 million tons. Export transportation in 2021 fell by 3% y/y – to 44.6 million tons, and domestic – increased by 3.1%, up to 27.7 million tons.