Ukrainian Railways cuts cargo transportation volume by 7.1% this year

MOSCOW. Nov 9 (Interfax) - According to operational data, Ukrainian Railways transported 120.58 million tonnes of cargo in January-October 2023, which is 7.1% less than it did in the respective period of last year, Ukrainian media said, citing an analytical report for the November 7 meeting with the heads of the Ukrainian Railways transport vertical on the transportation of exports by rail.

The transportation stood at 13.58 million tonnes in October, up 12.6% year-on-year and the highest volume since the year beginning, it said.

Ukrainian Railways transported 43.28 million tonnes of exported cargo in January-October 2023, down 15.5% from the respective period of last year. The main reason is a decline in transportation of exported iron and manganese ore by 5.7 million tonnes, exported ferrous metals by 1.33 million tonnes and exported mineral building materials by 0.96 million tonnes, the Ukrainian Railways materials say.

Some 4.88 million exported goods were transported in October, up 36% from September. The growth resulted from the resumption of shipments from Odessa ports, Ukrainian Railways said.

Iron and manganese ore ranks first in the structure of export transportation with a 39% share (1.93 million tonnes), grains rank second with a 35% share (1.73 million tonnes), and ferrous metals rank third with a 7% share (0.33 million tonnes).

As reported earlier, Ukrainian Railways transported 107 million tonnes of cargo in January-September 2023, which is 9.2% less than it did in the respective period of last year. Transportation amounted to 12 million tonnes in September, up 3.1% year-on-year and down 1.8% from August 2023.