RZD anticipates 3% decline in loading in Oct, below target, down 2.5% in Nov
TALLINN. Oct 27 (Interfax) - Russian Railways (RZD) expects freight loading to decline 2.5% in November 2016 year-on-year, which is based on daily loading of roughly 3.66 million tonnes, Vice President Salman Babayev told journalists.
"For October, loading will be 3% lower year-on-year," Babayev said.
RZD's operating plan for October 2016 assumes freight loading at 3.45 million tonnes a day, a source with knowledge of the company's operations told Interfax earlier. That level corresponds to 106.95 million tonnes per month. Freight loading in October 2015 was about 106.9 million tonnes. In other words, RZD had not initially anticipated a serious decline in this indicator.
The decline is due in part to lower construction material and iron ore freight volumes, things, Babayev told journalists. Growth was registered in shipment of nonferrous metals, machinery and equipment, fish and containers, he said.
RZD anticipates that freight loading in 2016 as a whole will increase 0.5%. In September, RZD said that it expected freight loading to increase 1% to 1.226 billion tonnes in 2016. RZD President Oleg Belozerov repeated that figure in October. He had previously said the company expected loading to grow 1.6% in 2016.
Loading in 2017 will remain at the 2016 level, RZD said in materials. Taking into account the extra day in February in 2016, this roughly corresponds to a 0.3% increase in daily loading.
Freight loading declined 1.4% to 102 million tonnes in September RZD said earlier, citing provisional data.
Freight turnover rose 1.2% year-on-year to 194.7 billion tonne-km or, including empty runs, 1.3% to 248.1 billion tonne-km. For January-September 2016 as a whole, cargo loading rose 1.3% year-on-year to 911.6 million tonnes.
