Railroads expect to receive US$ 1.75 billion

The rail sector, driven by the iron ore production and the larger competitiveness of Brazil in the agricultural segment, should receive more from US$ 1.75 billion of investments on this year. The National Association of the Rail Transporters (ANTF, in Portuguese) foresees a growth of 9.2% in transportation, even without having received, until the moment, new investments from the Program of Accelerated  Growth (PAC, in Portuguese), of the Federal Government.

PAC foresees more than US$ 3.9 billion to 2010 in contributions – US$ 800 million just this year – what represents the construction, adaptation, duplication and recovery of 2.500 kilometers of track in four years. Nothing from PAC was made available up to now to the sector.
“The project is in an evaluation phase, moving slowly, but we expect that, in the second semester, there will be an acceleration of investments”, says Rodrigo Vilaça, executive director of the National Association of the Rail Transporters (ANTF, in Portuguese).
For him, non-traditional shippers, that transport construction material, chemical and general freight, should present a larger growth this year. Containers should grow more than 26% in 2007. The Center-West region should receive the largest investment, in function of the new agricultural borders and minerals.

MRS Logística RR, that controls 1.674 kilometers of the network, plans to invest US$ 350 million this year. According to Henrique Aché Pillar, financial director of MRS, the company should enlarge in up to 15% the freight movement in 2007.

Intermodal terminals represent one of the main strategies for the company. According to Vilaça, since 2006, 46 terminals were inaugurated in Brazil. With the mining areas and metallurgy in a rhythm of accentuated growth, Aché Pillar emphasizes that the movement of containers and agricultural products have also been obtaining prominence. In the first quarter, the agricultural segment increased 60.3% in MRS, in relation to the same period of 2006.

As the next step, the company is developing operations driven to the frozen goods between São Paulo and Santos. It is an embryonic project.
“We are testing this segment; we still don´t know what to wait”, emphasizes the director.

Acquisitions

In March, MRS ordered, with resources of the National Bank of Economical and Social Development (BNDES) in the value of US$ 120,5 million, 2.865 gondola cars and other equipments. In 2007, the group should acquire 10 new locomotives and 38 used ones.

América Latina Logística (ALL), with whom MRS maintains alliance for the construction of the third rail in the access to Porto of Santos, foresees to enlarge the performance, with focus in the idle capacity of the rail network that is around 80%. Resources obtained in 2006 from the BNDES, in the value of US$ 600 million, for projects in the period 2007-09, should contribute with the growth.

Only on this year, the estimate of investments of ALL, whose rail network totals 21 thousand kilometers approximately, is of the order of US$ 250 million. With this value, 40 locomotives and 1.800 wagons of the inactive fleet of former Brasil Ferrovias will be refurbished, besides the replacement of 20 thousand tons of rails and the installation of 340 derailment detectors.

One of the main tools that ALL has been using to develop projects is the partnership with the customers, that invest in the acquisition of cars, in the installation of extensions and of terminals. One of the main market focuses for next years is it of sugar. Now, the transport of sugar in bulk is small and alcohol is ´insignificant´.Since the beginning of the year, ALL participates in market studies developed by big companies in the biofuels sector, to evaluate the transport demand.

Fonte: DCI