Brazilian integrated steelmaker Gerdau has increased the use of a railway owned by MRS to transport steel-related products, MRS said this week. According to MRS, Gerdau’s use of MRS’ railway from 2015 to 2019 rose 64.4 percent. Last year, Gerdau accounted for 31 percent of MRS’ new transportation cargo contracts.
MRS said Gerdau has been transporting mainly steel products from the steelmaker’s Ouro Branco mill, located in the city of same name in Minas Gerais state. MRS said it transported 1.18 million mt of steel in 2019 for Gerdau, out of its Ouro Branco mill, a 17.6 percent year-on-year increase.
Gerdau has also been using MRS railways to get its feedstock. MRS said transportation of feedstock to Gerdau’s Ouro Branco mill in 2019 reached 564,000 mt, 15.3 percent up, year-on-year.
Gerdau was hit in 2018 by a nation-wide strike from truck drivers, which affected its domestic operations and led to the company using railway transportation as an alternative.