LAST month's truckers' strike in Brazil, which paralysed commercial transport in the nation, has resulted in a large increase in containers being transported by rail during the crisis.
With the undisputable over-dependence on road haulage in South America, the strike has led to shippers, carriers, and political decision makers to ponder alternatives to the truck.
MRS Logistica, a leading rail operator, said that it had almost doubled its carryings during the bitter dispute - which gripped the nation from May 21 to June 1 - and may reignite if a minimum freight rate deal is not approved by Brasilia; MRS called on shippers to use the railroad more in the future to 'reduce their dependence' on trucks.
During the 11-day strike, desperate shippers looked for ways to bypass roadblocks set up by more than 300,000 truck drivers. (About 1 million truck drivers operate in Brazil, of which 700,000 are freelance and members of the main union Abcam.) Some shippers headed for the railroad depots, IHS Media reported.
MRS Logistica would not provide specific data, citing market competition concerns, but did state that in terms of containers it usually operates at 45 per cent to 60 per cent of available capacity. However, during the truckers' strike it was 100 per cent full for 'every wagon,' and this has largely continued since the strike ended at the beginning of the month. MRS noted that not all new volume was strike-induced: it said some of the extra volume was from companies who were already considering switching from truck to rail.
Estimates from other sources suggest that containers handled were up from about 3,000 TEU per week to around 6,000 TEU per week.
During 2017, MRS transported about 86,000 TEU, up more than 10 per cent from 78,880 TEU in 2016. It is not unreasonable, given Brazil's growing economy, to argue that MRS will transport 100,000 TEU this year.
Further, the doubling of cargo figures during the truckers' strike by MRS is backed up by Contrail Logistica, a railroad terminal operator and services provider.
Contrail's CEO Rodrigo Paixao said in an interview that volumes had 'more than doubled' since the start of this year and that Contrail's service, using MRS Logistica wagons, from Jundiai (where Contrail owns the rail hub) to Santos had been given another boost during the strike, surging from 1,000 TEU per month to 1,200 TEU per week.
'We don't know how much of the extra flows are sustainable, but we will try and keep as much as possible. Right now there is a lot of confusion with the arguments about freight rate tables for truck drivers, but in the meantime some shippers are coming to us and other rail providers,' Mr Paixao said.
Alan Lear, the operations director for Lachmann Group Terminals, which has a rail terminal in Taubate (halfway between Rio de Janeiro and Santos) and an inland bonded terminal at Sao Bernardo Dos Campos (near Sao Paulo and 25 miles from Santos) said that sometimes positive things can stem from adversity.
'The truckers' dispute has caused so much disruption to Brazil but, perhaps, if more containers switch to rail then some good will come of it,' said Mr Lear who has been advocating of more rail cargo transport for more than a decade.
With the undisputable over-dependence on road haulage in South America, the strike has led to shippers, carriers, and political decision makers to ponder alternatives to the truck.
MRS Logistica, a leading rail operator, said that it had almost doubled its carryings during the bitter dispute - which gripped the nation from May 21 to June 1 - and may reignite if a minimum freight rate deal is not approved by Brasilia; MRS called on shippers to use the railroad more in the future to 'reduce their dependence' on trucks.
During the 11-day strike, desperate shippers looked for ways to bypass roadblocks set up by more than 300,000 truck drivers. (About 1 million truck drivers operate in Brazil, of which 700,000 are freelance and members of the main union Abcam.) Some shippers headed for the railroad depots, IHS Media reported.
MRS Logistica would not provide specific data, citing market competition concerns, but did state that in terms of containers it usually operates at 45 per cent to 60 per cent of available capacity. However, during the truckers' strike it was 100 per cent full for 'every wagon,' and this has largely continued since the strike ended at the beginning of the month. MRS noted that not all new volume was strike-induced: it said some of the extra volume was from companies who were already considering switching from truck to rail.
Estimates from other sources suggest that containers handled were up from about 3,000 TEU per week to around 6,000 TEU per week.
During 2017, MRS transported about 86,000 TEU, up more than 10 per cent from 78,880 TEU in 2016. It is not unreasonable, given Brazil's growing economy, to argue that MRS will transport 100,000 TEU this year.
Further, the doubling of cargo figures during the truckers' strike by MRS is backed up by Contrail Logistica, a railroad terminal operator and services provider.
Contrail's CEO Rodrigo Paixao said in an interview that volumes had 'more than doubled' since the start of this year and that Contrail's service, using MRS Logistica wagons, from Jundiai (where Contrail owns the rail hub) to Santos had been given another boost during the strike, surging from 1,000 TEU per month to 1,200 TEU per week.
'We don't know how much of the extra flows are sustainable, but we will try and keep as much as possible. Right now there is a lot of confusion with the arguments about freight rate tables for truck drivers, but in the meantime some shippers are coming to us and other rail providers,' Mr Paixao said.
Alan Lear, the operations director for Lachmann Group Terminals, which has a rail terminal in Taubate (halfway between Rio de Janeiro and Santos) and an inland bonded terminal at Sao Bernardo Dos Campos (near Sao Paulo and 25 miles from Santos) said that sometimes positive things can stem from adversity.
'The truckers' dispute has caused so much disruption to Brazil but, perhaps, if more containers switch to rail then some good will come of it,' said Mr Lear who has been advocating of more rail cargo transport for more than a decade.