Railroad closes transport contract for 1.8 million tons
DCI
Ferrovia Centro Atlântica (FCA), a railroad company controlled by Vale, closed another contract for the transportation of sugar. This time, the railroad company will cater to ED&F Man, which operates in the international commerce of commodities. In order to implement the operation, R$ 6 million (US$ 3.3 million) have been invested in the renovation of 150 wagons and the adaptation of a terminal in Aguaí, in the interior of São Paulo The estimate is that 1.8 million tons should be transported from Aguaí to the Port of Santos in five years.
According to Fabiano Lorenzi, commercial officer of FCA, the logistics aimed at the sugar segment is currently one of the operations that grow the most in the company.
"There was an 89% increase in carried volume, if the 1st half of 2009 is compared to 2008's: 645 thousand tons of the product were carried in the first six months of the year", he told the DCI. The officer explained that in the corridor that goes from the Mid-West region, going through the Triângulo Mineiro region in the State of Minas Gerais and the interior of São Paulo to the port, the transportation of sugar represents 15% of the businesses. "The estimate is that until the end of the year the participation should leap to 25%", foresees the officer.
FCA also keeps in its portfolio other clients of the sector, like Copersucar, Cristalsev and Grupo Carlos Lyra, besides some plants. In 2008, the railroad transported, in total, 904 thousand tons of sugar. Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica has 8 thousand kilometers of rails distributed through seven states, besides a fleet of 500 locomotives and 12 thousand wagons.