Having improved slightly, the small-tonnage market sentiment has deteriorated again this week, partly due to the start of Ramadan and minimized activity in the Mediterranean Sea (primarily this applies to shipments of fertilizers and minerals from North African ports).
In January 2025, a total of 17.6 million t of cargo were transported by railway in Poland, which is a 100,000 t or 0.8% decline from January 2024 and a 500,000 t or 2.7% reduction from December 2024.
A significant excess of gondola cars on the market in March 2025 puts a strong pressure on the corresponding rental rates. However, some operators are still trying to hold rates at quite a high level averaging ₴291/day (hereafter VAT excluding).
Dynamics of average mazut prices, $/tonne
IMC Agro-Industrial Company continues to invest in logistics, recently adding 150 new grain hoppers to its own railcar fleet. This brings the total number of railcars owned by IMC to 300. Investments in this project amounted to about $22 million in 2024-2025.
Gondola car rental rate index, €/day*
Prices for new freight wagons at some Ukrainian enterprises in February 2025 (million UAH, VAT excluding, EXW)
Ukrainian wagon building enterprises delivered as many as 175 freight wagons to their customers in January 2025, including 163 hoppers, 10 tank cars and two bunker-type cement wagons.
Kremenchuk Steel Works did not produce heavy railway steel castings in January 2025.
Almost 4.06 million t of agricultural products were exported from Ukraine in January 2025 (down 13% or about 600,000 t compared with December). In particular, exports included 3.45 million t of grain (down 11% year-on-year or 400,000 t), 380,000 t of vegetable oil (down 14% year-on-year or 64,000 t)