photo: LTG Cargo / Public domain/LTG Cargo
In July, LTG Cargo, the freight transportation company of the LTG group, transported a record amount of grain in Lithuania—preliminarily estimated at around 270,000 tons. This is an 80% increase compared to the same month last year.
"In recent years, we have observed a growth in grain transportation by rail, and the impressive results in July demonstrate LTG Cargo's readiness to promptly respond to the needs of the agricultural sector and the increasing competitiveness of rail transport in the freight market. Efficiency and sustainability are becoming increasingly important—one rail car transports 2.5 times more grain than road transport, and the carbon footprint of rail freight is reduced by about six times," says Eglė Šimė, CEO of LTG Cargo.
According to Laimonas Nekrošius, head of sales and service development at LTG Cargo, the record grain transportation volumes in July this year were driven by an earlier-than-usual harvest, about two weeks ahead of schedule.
"Farmers, considering all conditions, predicted an earlier grain harvest this year, so similar transportation results were anticipated. Typically, the peak period for grain transportation starts at the beginning of August and continues until September. This year, we began transporting the first rail cars with the new harvest in early July, so the early peak likely contributed to July's record," says Nekrošius.
Currently, grain transportation accounts for about 13-14% of all freight volumes transported by LTG Cargo by rail and continues to grow steadily each year. To meet the increasing market demand for efficient and sustainable grain transport within the country and to the Port of Klaipėda, the grain car fleet will soon be expanded by 500 new rail cars. It is planned that the first 300-grain rail cars will be delivered to Lithuania this year, and the remaining 200 will arrive in the first quarter of next year.
Currently, LTG Cargo's fleet for transporting grain consists of about 1,200 rail cars, all of which have been allocated for this year's grain season.
From January to June this year, approximately 1.2 million tons of grain—wheat, rye, barley, and rapeseed—were transported by rail in Lithuania. To compare, in July 2023, 150,000 tons of grain were transported by rail in Lithuania.
LTG Cargo, a company of the LTG group, continues its active efforts in integration and expansion in the West. The company provides freight transportation, logistics, and forwarding services, as well as cargo loading, locomotive and rail car maintenance, and rail car rental services in Lithuania and abroad. LTG Cargo has established and manages subsidiaries LTG Cargo Polska in Poland and LTG Cargo Ukraine in Ukraine. Promoting greener freight transport by rail, the company brings together a team of 1,800 logistics professionals. In 2023, LTG Cargo transported 27.2 million tons of freight. Last year, the company's revenue reached approximately EUR 286 million, with a net profit of EUR 17.5 million.
Source: LTG Cargo Press Releases