In Ukraine, the shortage of grain trucks is increasing and the cost of road transportation is increasing
In Ukraine, the demand for vehicles for transporting grain has already exceeded the available number of grain trucks, and the greatest transport shortage is observed in Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Odessa regions.
During the week, the main cargo transportation took place from Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions in the direction of Izmail. Also, large volumes of grain were transported from Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions to the ports of Reni, Izmail, Orlivka. In the western regions, the main transportation took place from Ternopil to Zakarpattia regions, from Zhytomyr to Volyn and from Khmelnytskyi to Lviv. However, their volumes were significantly smaller than in the southern direction.
It should be noted that the transport availability of regions varies. For example, in Vinnytsia, Lviv, Khmelnytskyi and Kyiv regions, the number of available cars generally meets demand, and in Dnipropetrovsk region it even exceeds demand. At the same time, in regions with a high concentration of cargo, the shortage of trucks complicates the organization of transportation, in particular grain exports.
The uneven distribution of cars between regions also leads to sharp jumps in transportation costs. On short routes (up to 100 km), the average transportation cost has decreased, while on long routes it remains high and significantly depends on the direction. During the week, the cost of delivery on routes with a length of 501-600 km was 3,000 UAH/t, on 601-700 km – 3,700 UAH/t, and over 900 km – exceeded 4,000 UAH/t.
However, even on routes of the same length, rates could vary significantly. The most expensive were transportation from front-line regions, the cost of which was affected by security risks and difficulties in organizing flights. Prices also depended on the availability of grain trucks.
It should be noted that transportation costs significantly affect the final cost of Ukrainian grain and farmers' incomes.
