{"id":490717,"date":"2026-07-28T19:53:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T09:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=73042"},"modified":"2026-07-28T19:53:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T09:53:21","slug":"ukrainian-rail-freight-shrinks-by-6-in-h1-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=490717","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian rail freight shrinks by 6% in H1 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Ukrainian Railways<\/a> (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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n