Russian Railways notes a decrease in freight transportation volumes in May, but expects the situation to improve in June

According to the operational data provided by “Russian Railways” (RZD), in May this year there was a decrease in the volume of cargo in the company's networks. The total amount of transportation amounted to 94.6 million tons. This is 9.4% less than was recorded in the same period of 2024.

The downward trend in the volume of loading was also observed in April 2025. Then the indicators amounted to 92.9 million tons. This is 8.6% lower than in the previous April.

In the first five months of the current year, the following dynamics was observed in the main cargo categories:

Hard coal: 138.2 million tons (decreased by 3.4%)
Coke: 4.3 million tons (down 12%)
Iron and manganese ore: 45 million tons (down 0.2%)
Ferrous metals: 22.6 million tons (down 16%)
Ferrous scrap: 3.1 million tons (down 30.5%)
Industrial raw materials and molding materials: 11.1 million tons (down by 19.2%)

Since the beginning of 2025, the total turnover has dropped by 0.8% to 1 trillion 49.2 billion ton-kilometers. Cargo turnover, which takes into account empty railcar mileage, decreased by 0.6% to 1 trillion 300.7 billion ton-kilometers.

According to RZD, the average loading per day for May this year was 3 million 130 thousand tons. This is equivalent to 97 million tons for the month. At the same time, in June 2025, Russian Railways management plans to keep the plan at 3 million 67 thousand tons, which indicates that the company remains optimistic about the prospects of freight transportation.

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