Freight Loading on the Russian Railways Network Falls 4.4% in January–November 2024
Freight loading on the Russian Railways (РЖД) network in Russia totalled 1 billion 82.1 million tonnes in January–November 2024, down 4.4% on the same period of 2023, according to the railway company's operational data.
Eleven months: loading down 4.4%
Cumulative loading on the network over January–November 2024 reached 1 billion 82.1 million tonnes. Compared with the same eleven months of the previous year, the figure fell by 4.4%. November alone added 95.6 million tonnes, 5.8% below November 2023: the closing month of autumn continued the downward trend in freight loading that persisted through the year.
The decline was recorded across most key cargo categories, from coal and construction materials to metals and cement. At the same time, several categories grew and partially offset the overall contraction in volumes.
Commodities behind the decline
The main contribution to the contraction came from bulk commodities. Over the eleven months loading fell in the following key categories:
- coal — 301.3 million tonnes, down 6.2%;
- construction cargo — 104.2 million tonnes, down 14.4%;
- ferrous metals — 56.1 million tonnes, down 9.9%;
- ferrous metal scrap — 10.4 million tonnes, down 19.4%;
- cement — 22 million tonnes, down 4.7%;
- grain — 28.5 million tonnes, down 3.3%.
Beyond these categories, shipments of oil and petroleum products decreased by 1.1% to 189.5 million tonnes, iron and manganese ore by 2% to 99.7 million tonnes, timber cargo by 1.7% to 24.1 million tonnes, non-ferrous ore and sulphur raw materials by 8.6% to 15 million tonnes, and chemicals and soda by 2.9% to 19.3 million tonnes.
Commodities that grew
Several segments of the freight mix posted positive dynamics over the eleven months:
- chemical and mineral fertilisers — 61.7 million tonnes, up 6.2%;
- coke — 10.9 million tonnes, up 2.9%;
- industrial raw materials and moulding materials — 30 million tonnes, up 1.3%;
- other cargo, including containerised — 109.6 million tonnes, up 0.9%.
Cargo turnover: minus 5.2% in tariff tonne-kilometres
Cargo turnover on the network in January–November 2024 decreased by 5.2% to 2,301.4 billion tariff tonne-km. Including empty running, the indicator fell by 5.8% to 2,839.5 billion tonne-km. For comparison, loading over the same period declined by 4.4%.
November and the structure of the year
In November, 95.6 million tonnes of cargo were loaded onto the network, 5.8% less than in the same month a year earlier. Over the eleven months the largest volumes were traditionally held by coal (301.3 million tonnes), oil and petroleum products (189.5 million tonnes) and other cargo including containerised (109.6 million tonnes), followed by construction cargo (104.2 million tonnes) and iron and manganese ore (99.7 million tonnes).
The freight mix therefore remains concentrated in a handful of bulk categories, and their dynamics largely determine the headline operating figures of the network — both loading and cargo turnover.
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