UZ reduced iron ore export shipments by 20.6% m/m in November 2022

In 12 days, the queue of railcars in the direction of the western border crossings decreased by 10%

In November 2022, Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) reduced export transportation of iron ore by 20.6%, or by 199.9 thousand tons, compared to the previous month. Valery Tkachev, deputy director of Ukrzalitnytsia’s commercial work department reports about it on his Facebook page.

Transportation of iron ore for exports decreased against the background of high electricity prices in Europe. Due to the energy crisis, steelmakers partially decrease production, so the need for raw materials decreases.

In November 2022, the total monthly volume of cargo transportation by rail decreased by 12.5% ​​compared to the previous month – to 10.56 million tons. In the export connection, the volume of cargo transportation decreased by 24.9% m/m – to 3.9 million tons.

As Valery Tkachev reported, the queue of railcars in the direction of the western border crossings was reduced by 10% within 12 days. On November 31, 2022, it amounted to 22,056 thousand railcars, and on December 12 – 19,743 thousand. The reduction of the queue occurred because the Transport Logistics Center (TTL) renewed the limitation of the coordination of load plans for individual border crossings/carriers.

At the same time, loaded railcars are standing still in the direction of the port of Izmail due to the slow absorption of cargo by the port. Almost 3,000 railcars move in the direction of Izmail, the daily unloading is approximately 140-160 railcars. Ukrzaliznytsia increased the number of shunting locomotives in this direction.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Ukrzaliznytsia in January-November 2022 reduced transportation of cargo by 51.1% compared to the same period last year – to 140.5 million tons. In particular, in the 11 months of 2022, domestic transportation decreased by 48.6% y/y, export – by 45.8% year/year. Transportation of iron ore for January-October 2022 amounted to 29.31 million tons, which is 54.5% less compared to the same period in 2021.