Ukraine railway product exports dropped 17% m/m in October

Ukraine’s exports of railway products amounted to 10.7
kt in October, 17% less m/m and 31% below the average 2020 level, according to
Concorde Capital’s analysis of State customs service’s goods exports data.

 

Exports amounted to 13.1 kt per month in 10M21 (131.0
kt for the period), 16% less than the 2020 average of 15.6 kt per month.

 

Exports to Russia amounted to 0.4 kt in October, 2%
less m/m and 92% less than the 2020 average of 5.0 kt per month.

 

Exports to Belarus amounted to 3.2 kt in October, 34%
less m/m but 6% higher than the 2020 average of 3.0 kt per month.

 

The average export price for the railway products rose
5% m/m in October to USD 1,557/t.

 

Ukraine’s largest railway wheel producer is Interpipe
(INTHOL), which in 2020 exported 165 kt of railway products (13.8 kt per
month).

 

Dmytro Khoroshun: The drop in
the volumes was expected, and the recent price increases are a reason for
cautious optimism.

 

Namely, Interpipe conducted a 12-day regular
maintenance at its steelmaking plant in October, which caused a 35% plunge in crude
steel production volume that month. Therefore, decreases in October-November
Interpipe sales volumes were likely.

 

The 5% price increase in October, which follows a 4% rise in September and a 3% growth in August, is a welcome development after a year of stagnant prices. These
increases as inferred from the State customs service’s data will need to be
confirmed by the more accurate data from UkrStat and ultimately from Interpipe itself.