General Director of Maersk Ukraine Roman Koloyanov said that the planned increase in tariffs for freight transportation "

We are talking about the initiative to index tariffs by 37%, which is being considered by Ukrzaliznytsia.. According to Koloyanov, this will make rail transportation uncompetitive compared to road transport.

" This is a simple logistical axiom,” he noted..

According to him, now the cost of transportation by rail is already close to road logistics, and in some directions even exceeds it. In case of further growth of tariffs, companies will be forced to redirect cargo flows.

“Any further increase in tariffs will mean a loss of cargo flow in favor of road carriers,” explained Koloyanov.

He also warned of negative impacts on infrastructure, particularly dry ports, which could lose cargo handling volumes.

Maersk notes that if tariffs increase, they will look for alternative solutions to retain customers. “We work in market conditions, so we will look for cheaper alternatives - and this will be motor transport,” Koloyanov said.

At the same time, he believes that tariff optimization should be considered instead of indexation. “It is necessary not to index, but to optimize tariffs in order to maintain cargo flows,” he said.

Koloyanov admitted that the railway incurs additional costs due to the war, but emphasized that shifting them to business could have a negative effect on the market. " We need to look for other options for compensation,” he emphasized..

Maersk is one of the largest container shipping companies in the world and is active in the Ukrainian market, in particular in the field of railway container logistics.

As you know, Ukrzaliznytsia is taking the initiative to increase tariffs for freight transportation to cover losses from passenger transportation. In turn, the Ukrainian National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce said that such an increase would lead to a loss of $2.4 billion in foreign exchange earnings, because exporters would reduce production, as well as a reduction in GDP by UAH 96 billion.