A subject that always comes back to the agenda in Brazil is cargo transport and the relationship between modes in the country. It is generally agreed that Brazil lacks investment on several fronts and needs greater integration between the different means of cargo handling. My idea here is to bring some interesting data and numbers that were presented by ILOS in our International Supply Chain Forum.
The country's transport matrix, as everyone knows, is strongly dominated by road transport. However, in 2018, highways had the lowest representation of the entire historical series, losing ground to rail and cabotage. Much of this is due to the minimum freight table, which further increased the already onerous cost of road transport. It is also possible to highlight the increase in agricultural production, which in 2018 had 55% of its volume disposed of by railroads and waterways, such as commented consultant Alexandre Lobo.
Figure 1 - Evolution of the cargo transport matrix in Brazil, from 2016 to 2018, in TKUs
Source: ILOS
However, this value of 60% attributed to road transport is still very high when compared to other countries. To give you an idea, in countries with dimensions similar to Brazil, such as China and the USA, these representations are around 32% and 43%, respectively. That said, it would be reasonable to infer that our road network is extensive and capillary, which is not the reality in the country. Today, Brazil has around 213 km of paved roads against 4.774 km in China and 4.474 km in the USA, and all this without going into the qualitative merit of the roads.
The infrastructure of national rail transport also has its shortcomings. There are 30 km of railways in the country, a number close to 8x smaller than the United States, for example. In addition, there is a very high concentration of the type of cargo transported by these routes, especially iron ore, followed by agricultural soy, corn and sugar. At least, the government has been promising new investments and new concessions in this area, such as the stretch between Porto Nacional (TO) and Estrela d'Oeste (SP) on the North-South Railway, won by Rumo.
Cabotage, in turn, has enormous potential for growth. Representing only 11% of national movement, this modal is the best option for transporting large volumes over long distances along the coast. The waterway modal (including the waterway) has several advantages in economic, environmental and social terms, enabling the reduction of traffic accidents, greenhouse gas emissions and the logistical cost of transport.
If you are interested in deepening your knowledge on this topic, ILOS regularly performs the Strategic Transport Management Course. In it you have contact with the main concepts of this subject, in addition to practical exercises, case studies and current research of the ILOS. Click here and learn more!
Sources:
'https://ilos.com.br/web/agronegocio_na_luta_para_redutor_o_cost_de_transporte
'https://ilos.com.br/web/cabotagem-no-brasil-importancia-beneficios-e-crescimento
'https://ilos.com.br/web/ferrovias-minerio-em-alta-soja-com-espaco-para-crescer
