The volume of Ukrainian rail freight has decreased by 6% in the first half of 2026. Exports suffered even more, shrinking by 9.6% year-on-year. Heavy materials, such as ores and coal, showed the largest declines.
Ukrainian Railways (UZ) moved 74.7 million tonnes of freight during the first six months of 2026, according to UZ Board Members Volodymyr Ivashchenko. Iron and manganese ores, coal, construction materials and cement all declined in terms of their volumes. By contrast, UZ transported more grain, oil and petroleum products and mineral fertilisers during this period.
The vast majority of the decline in iron and manganese ore transportation can be ascribed to lower export volumes. In total, the volume of these ores declined by 6.1 million tonnes. Some 5.3 million tonnes of this decline occurred in the export segment.
A fall in global ore prices and weaker demand in key markets are some of the reasons for the drop in ore exports, according to Ivashchenko. Domestic production issues, logistics problems and energy shortages are also part of the negative equation.
Cement
Similarly, cement exports fell by 45% or 400,000 tonnes. This suggests that domestic cement transportation grew, because the overall volume of transported cement declined by only 300,000 tonnes. The reduction in exports occurred due to difficulties accessing the EU market and a decline in the competitiveness of Ukrainian producers, says Ivashchenko.
Meanwhile, UZ exported 1.6 million tonnes of grain more than during H1 2025 (+19.5%). Several factors contributed to this growth, including the transportation of stored grain reserves and a significant increase in exports from March through June. Furthermore, transportation figures recovered after early-year disruptions caused by adverse weather and attacks on port facilities.
Exports remain UZ’s largest rail freight business segment at 35 million tonnes in H1 2026. This accounts for 47% of the total volume. Domestic transportation comes in second place with 32.4 million tonnes or 43% of the total volume. Transit is a negligible part of Ukrainian rail freight at only 0.2 million tonnes.
Traffic routes
Freight volumes declined across all transportation routes. The Black Sea ports in the Odesa region recorded an 8.7% decline. The border crossings with the EU and Moldova similarly saw a 9.7% decrease. The Danube ports performed worst of all at -28.2% year-on-year.