Origins and destinations of cargo in Brazil: Main movement flows by type of goods

Brazilian government agencies have sought to improve their data recording systems. The ANTAQ, ANTT and ANP websites currently have online databases for consultation and download of waterway, rail and pipeline movements. However, for the main mode currently used, responsible for 65% of all cargo handling, there is no record of the routes and volume of movement carried out in any official agency in Brazil.

To fill this information gap and better understand the behavior of transport flows in the country, the Planning and Logistics Company (EPL) in partnership with IPEA developed a survey in 2015, released in 2017, to map cargo flows in the country , especially in road transport.

This research was later complemented with the volumes of navigation and rail and pipeline movements, generating an origin-destination matrix of cargo handling, segmented into 4 groups of goods: agricultural solid bulk (soy and corn), non-agricultural solid bulk (ore iron, coal and cement), general cargo and liquid bulk (fuel).

On the map below it is possible to visualize the result of the research, with the most representative flows by type of cargo and modes of transport.

Movement of all modes of transport with all groups of goods

Source: Interregional cargo transport in Brazil – Panorama 2015 – EPL

Agricultural Solid Bulk

The largest bulk flows, both agricultural and mineral, are for export. For agricultural products, the origin is the Midwest region, a major producer of soy and corn, followed by the South region. Exports from Mato Grosso accounted for around 18% of the total handling of agricultural bulk in 2015. The most representative routes to follow are exports from PR (8%), RS (7%) and MS (5% ).

The map shows the concentration of production flow through the ports of São Paulo, with heavy use of the Rumo railroad between the states of SP and MT and trucks.

Main Flows of Agricultural Solid Bulk - Top 20 (in million tons)

Source: EPL – OD Cargo Matrix Research (Average 2015). ILOS analyzes

Non-Agricultural Solid Bulk

The largest flows depart from the Quadrilátero Ferrífero in Minas Gerais and Carajás in Pará, strong regions in the production of minerals. Exports from MG and PA are responsible for 22% and 18%, respectively, of the total volume of non-agricultural bulk. Domestic flows from the state of Minas to the states of RJ and ES represent 18%. All other routes have less than 8% representation.

The flow takes place mainly by the EFC railways (Estrada de Ferro Carajás) to the port terminal of Ponta da Madeira (MA), EFVM (Estrada de Ferro Vitória-Minas) to Tubarão (ES), and by the Ferrovia do Aço (MRS) between Minas Gerais and the Ilha da Guaíba and Itaguaí terminals in RJ.

Main Flows of Non-Agricultural Solid Bulk - Top 20 (in million tons)

Source: EPL – OD Cargo Matrix Research (Average 2015). ILOS analyzes

General Load

The most representative category after non-agricultural bulk is very busy by road, mainly within the Southeast region, the largest producer and consumer of this type of merchandise. Among the railways, Rumo stands out in the southern section, between SP and PR. Transport is also carried out by cabotage and by waterway in the north, to ensure that the region, only accessed by rivers, is supplied with food and consumer goods.

In terms of volume, the 5 largest routes are: SP-SP (9,1%), SP-Exportation (4,4%), MG-SP (2,6%), SP-MG (2,3%) and PR-SP (2,1%).

Main General Cargo Flows - Top 20 (in million tons)

Source: EPL – OD Cargo Matrix Research (Average 2015). ILOS analyzes

Liquid Bulk

There is a high representation of fuels in cabotage. As most oil derivatives are produced in the southeast, cabotage is necessary, as it is the lowest-cost and high-volume modal to supply the demand in the north and northeast regions.

However, the largest liquid bulk routes are still within the southeast region, due to the size of the market in the region, whose movement is carried out by Transpetro pipelines and later by highways and railways for the flow to the interior of the country.

There is a large concentration within São Paulo, the state with the highest concentration of refineries and, consequently, the largest producer. The volume is equivalent to 13% of the total movement. The 2nd largest flow is imports to SP (6%).

Main Liquid Bulk Flows - Top 20 (in million tons)

Source: EPL – OD Cargo Matrix Research (Average 2015). ILOS analyzes

All cited volume information was extracted through analysis of the study and the EPL OD matrix. More details about the study can be found on the EPL website: www.epl.gov.br

References:

http://epl.gov.br/transporte-inter-regional-de-carga-no-brasil-panorama-2015

http://epl.gov.br/matrizes-do-transporte-inter-regional-de-carga-no-brasil