Railway Industry Showing Signs of Recovery

During the first half of this year, major Railway companies saw an increase in transportation volumes compared to the same period in 2020.

The Mexican Railway System (SFM) mobilized a total of 54.7 million tons of cargo, which represents an increase of 10.5 percent over the same period last year.

According to figures from the document Pulso del Sector Ferroviario, prepared by the Agencia Reguladora del Transporte Ferroviario (ARTF), Ferrovalle grew 73.2 percent from 720,000 tons between January and May 2020, to 1.2 million tons during the same period this year. In the same period, the Via Corta Tijuana Tecate increased 66.7 percent from 60,000 to 100,000 tons, while Ferromex grew 10.6 percent from 24.1 million to 26.7 million tons, and Ferrosur obtained 0.1 percent growth, transporting 10,000 more tons this year, leaving its total at 5.81 million tons.

Meanwhile, Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) recorded a 13 percent increase, moving approximately 20 million tons versus 17.6 million tons from the same period last year. Kansas City Southern, had previously published their 2Q2021 results, where the company reported revenues of US$749.5 million, representing a 37 percent increase compared to 2Q2020.Total carload volumes were up 31 percent compared to last year, as reported by MBN. President and CEO, Patrick J. Ottensmeyer, commented on the COVID-19 pandemic recovery. "KCS delivered strong second quarter volume growth, as our franchise benefited from unique growth drivers and the economy recovered from the COVID-19 downturn.”

Nevertheless, the document did mention a loss. Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec Railroad had a 97.5 percent drop, transporting only 10,000 tons compared to last year's 210,000 tons. It is important to mention that when comparing the two-month pre-pandemic period of January and February to the first two months of this year, 2021 is still down 3.8 percent, this means that the railway industry has still not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is well on its way.