Russian steel giant Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) has announced that it has delivered a trial lot of steel products to Turkey via the railway route Magnitogorsk - Baku - Tbilisi - Kars.
According to the company’s statement, currently, the Azerbaijan-based operator ADY Express is developing the possibility of delivering up to 250,000 mt of steel products per year, or about a third of its Turkish subsidiary MMK Metalurji’s hot rolled coil (HRC) demand.
Accordingly, four containers with a total weight of 120 mt were delivered to MMK Metalurji. The train overcame a distance of 5,000 km in 17 days. Until now, HRC deliveries to MMK Metalurji were carried out exclusively by the sea through the port in Novorossiysk and the length of this route is more than 6,000 km with a delivery time of 30 days.
MMK stated that the diversification of logistics flows will allow it to reduce the risks associated with conventional prohibitions and bad weather in the water area of Novorossiysk port. In addition, reducing the delivery time will help optimize the company's working capital by reducing inventory on the road.
The new route also allows the company to consider the prospect of diversifying exports to the Middle East, Europe and Africa through its own port in the Turkish city of Iskenderun.