Rail freight: Understand how it works
In activities involving cargo or product transportation in general, it is essential that the company responsible for transportation draw up a freight table. By definition, freight would be exactly the fee for the transportation of goods. This practice is indispensable in the railroad sector, since the main objective of this segment is the transport of goods, supplying several cities in different states and, mainly, Brazilian ports.
The freight calculation for the railroad sector is prepared by the logistics sectors of the companies that own the line concessions. This, in fact, is one of the various attributions of the logistic branch within the sector. For you to better understand how the logistics of the railroad lines work, we have a more detailed content on the subject.
Probably you who are reading have already gone through a situation in which a purchase you made over the internet indicated a fee related to the delivery freight. Well, this fee is created so that companies are not harmed during the journey as, without this charge, the costs of transportation, vehicle supply (be it train, car, bus, motorcycle or truck) and other fees attributed to the trip stand out in relation to the profit obtained by the payment of the goods, harming the transport companies.
Thus, the collection of freight is necessary in all modes of transport. As the focus of our text is the railroads, we will present to you the importance of this taxation in the sector, as well as the calculations of collection are made, how this collection of railroad freight is charged and much more.
Content Index
Rail freight
There are some advantages that make logistics companies prefer to invest in the railroad sector than in other modes, such as the road, which is the largest cargo transportation sector in the country. Among these benefits, are included: transporting a greater number of cargoes in a single trip, the non-existence of toll collection, lack of congestion, among others.
Because of these advantages, travel costs become cheaper and, consequently, freights are lower, not least because a large number of tons are loaded at the same time, spread over several wagons.
Even though rail freight is relatively cheaper than in other sectors, it is still quite important to collect this fee. Logistics companies seek to invest in the railroad sector for the reasons mentioned, but none of this would be a reality if this fee were not charged, as it would result in economic losses for the investing companies.
Rail freight calculation
Here in Brazil, the types of rails are divided by weighing a piece of rail per meter of the composition. It becomes clearer when we see the following table and read it:
As we can see, each trail has a specific acronym. For example, the TR45 indicates that the meter of the track weighs around 45 kg, and so on. This categorization allows the control of loads on the railroad lines, which is very important so that the rails and other components of the lines do not suffer from greater wear than allowed.
This control is totally linked to the calculation of railroad freight, since one of the points for calculating the freight for a cargo transport trip is made by the weight of the goods arranged in the wagons. This weighing of the wagons and, consequently, the loads, is carried out by railroad scales, which are spread out at strategic points on the lines, carrying out the weighing with the aid of a computerized technological system that sends the results to a command center. According to the results obtained, it assists in the calculation, thus stipulating a certain freight for the railroad line.
In addition, another important factor for calculating rail freight is the mileage traveled during the journey, measured between the line's embarkation and disembarkation stations. In Brazil, this calculation is carried out by multiplying the rail cost table by the weight or volume of the loads, always using the measure that has the highest value.
Freight calculations cannot exceed the values stipulated by the tables provided by the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT). But, as the railroad lines, in the current model, are commanded and organized by logistics companies in the private sector, the fees are often charged according to what the company stipulates. This has been generating a lot of controversy and, even, researchers are realizing that calculations in certain regions are stipulating values higher than necessary.
A survey carried out by the Research and Extension Group in Agroindustrial Logistics (ESALQ-Log), which examined about 200 rail routes in the State of Paraná, responsible for the transportation of several items important to the country's economy, found that the rail freight of these lines is extrapolating the values required for cargo handling.
The method used was the assembly of a simulator, which uses fictitious values necessary to reduce travel costs. According to the group's coordinator, economist Priscilla Biancarelli Nunes, it was found that the costs of rail freight used in the study area were 70% higher than what the simulator predicted as necessary. Also, according to the researcher, this high rate may cause the sector to lose competitiveness, as companies may prefer other modes of transport that are offering lower costs.
Conclusion
As in any product and cargo transportation activity, we saw that the collection of rail freight is fundamental for reducing travel costs and obtaining profit for carrying out the movements. There are clear differences in rail freight in relation to freight calculated in other modes of transport, mainly in the road sector. However, we can see that research points to an exaggerated charge in the values of freight, which can trigger an effect contrary to the desired one. After a long period of neglect in relation to the railroad sector, this segment finally returns to survive, since new companies are investing in it. Thus, it is important to carry out the collection of freight, but we can conclude that this advantage has to be put into practice, so as not to create problems that may be harmful to the sector in the future.
https://www.itransport.com.br/nova-tabela-de-fretes-minimos-aprenda-a-calcular-o-valor-do-frete/
https://institutobrasillogistico.com.br/custos-do-transporte-ferroviario/
https://canaldoservidor.infraestrutura.gov.br/curtas-do-mtpa/7153-antt-publica-tabela-de-frete.html
http://repositorio.ipea.gov.br/bitstream/11058/3386/5/PPE_v33_n01_Formacao.pdf
