February Russian railway black metal freight volume drops by 13.7% year-on-year

In February 2025, the freight volume of Russia's SA515 Grade 70 steel railway network decreased by 9.3% year-on-year to 87 million tons, setting the lowest monthly record in a decade since 2015. According to data released by the news office of Russian Railways, although February is traditionally the off-season for freight transportation, this performance is still significantly lower than market expectations.

Black metal freight volume has significantly declined

Affected by the decrease in construction activities, the freight volume of black metal decreased by 13.7% year-on-year. At the same time, the freight volume of hard coal increased slightly by 0.5%, while the freight volume of non-ferrous metals increased significantly by 13.5%.

Non coal export goods show impressive performance SA515 Grade 70 steel

It is worth noting that the transportation of non coal export goods to the east continues to maintain a growth momentum, partly due to adjustments in transportation policies. Among them, the freight volume of mineral fertilizers increased by 20.1% year-on-year, iron ore increased by 11%, and container cargo increased by 3.1%.

Overall, the overall decline in freight volume in February was mainly affected by changes in commodity market conditions and logistics adjustments. The decline in black metal freight volume is closely related to the slowdown in construction industry activity, while the performance of coal and non-ferrous metals shows some resilience. In addition, the growth of non coal export goods reflects the initial results of Russia's logistics optimization and export structure adjustment in the eastern market. Despite the weak performance of freight volume in February, the Russian SA515 Grade 70 steel railway freight market is expected to gradually recover in the coming months with the recovery of seasonal demand and continued policy support.