How Brazil's transportation infrastructure is divided
There are several types of transport, both for people and goods, separated by categories: land, waterway, air and pipeline. The objective of the following article is the debate around the cargo transport infrastructure, which is essential to carry out regional supplies and also for exports, an essential economic practice for the country.
Brazil is extensive and needs a quality logistics infrastructure. However, since the 20th century, among land transport, the road for the transport of cargo has predominated.
The railroadswhich appeared in the 19th century, were the precursors of transport modes for the transportation of goods, covering the most productive areas of the country for a long period.
However, after the creation of automotive vehicles, mainly trucks, there was a significant change in the preference for transport modes.
In order to attract foreign companies in the automotive industry, the governments of the 20th century gave preference to the development of highways, and even today this sector is predominant in the transport infrastructure in Brazil.
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Transportation infrastructure division currently
Divided into these categories presented above, Brazil demonstrates a clear preference for construction on highways for the transport infrastructure, as we can see in the extension of the main means of transport in the country.
The highways are more than 1.7 million km long, reaching a territorial reach much higher than that of other modes of transport.
The railroad, which represent the second most used form of cargo transportation, are around 29,000 km long, a huge difference from the highways.
Even if waterway transportation is less used, even it has a longer mileage than that of railroad, about 50 thousand km of mesh.
Lack of diversification
According to data from the National Transport Confederation (CNT), the diversification of the quantities of cargo carried by transport modes is quite disproportionate.
Highways account for about 61% of cargo transported, almost triple that of railroad (20.7%), while the waterway sector covers around 13.6%, totaling more than 95% of cargo handling. The rest is in charge of air and pipeline transport, with very low representation.
This lack of diversification of transport infrastructure in Brazil occurs for several reasons, the main one being the lack of investment.
According to a survey by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), the country invested only 2.18% of GDP in transport infrastructure, that is, a percentage that prevents a significant growth in the infrastructure of different national transport.
Highways, which are predominant, consequently receive more investments. The preference for highways throughout the 20th century and also in recent years has some reasons, mainly the reach.
The road sector is practically the only one capable of covering practically the entire territorial extension of the country, which generates jobs in several regions and provides the supply of inputs for all locations, which does not happen with other modes.
Therefore, the transport infrastructure of other modes ends up being harmed and the highways continue to dominate the national scenario, which represents a structural problem for Brazil.
Highways have this greater reach, but they are also one of the modes that most suffer from the lack of transport infrastructure. According to data from the National Department of Land Transport (DNTT), only 13% of the entire length of the road network is paved, which effectively affects the quality of travel.
Railroad also suffer from transport infrastructure problems. Difficulties in maintaining and creating solutions to improve the quality of the railroad have caused many railway lines to be abandoned and scrapped. It is estimated that just over 11,000 km out of a total of 29,000 km of railway line is operating at full capacity.
The structural quality of runways and railroad are fundamental problems, but there are other difficulties that also hinder the improvement of transport infrastructure in Brazil, such as the excessive bureaucracy imposed by the government, which mainly affects the airline industry.
A study by the Federation of Industries of Rio de Janeiro shows that the time for cargo to be released to fly is 175 hours, more than a week.
This delay is mainly due to the working hours of the operators, who usually operate only during working hours, an average of 6 hours a day.
Issues like this hinder the development of transportation infrastructure in Brazil, leaving the country far behind other world powers. To give you an idea, in the United States cargo is released in up to eight hours, while in China it is in just four hours, leveraging the use of the air sector by these nations.
Logistics and product prices
This lack of diversification in the use of transport modes directly affects the logistics of transport infrastructure and also the price of products, which is increased by the lack of competitiveness.
Road transport, which is the most usual, has its advantages, but it also presents important problems such as the logistical cost due to freight and the delay in trips made by trucks.
Road freight is expensive, as tolls, fuel and vehicle maintenance must be considered. As a trip by truck, from one state to another, for example, takes much longer when compared to that by train, the costs are naturally higher.
It is a matter of logic: with freight and travel costs being higher, product prices become higher, harming all national consumers and also hindering export growth.
Consequently, ways to improve this issue are constantly discussed in order to seek solutions to make other modes of transport more competitive, following national production.
Conclusão sobre a infraestrutura de transportes
We can conclude with the article that the competitiveness of the transport sectors is one of the most relevant factors for us to improve the national transport infrastructure. Increasing diversification, generating more transport capacity in railroad, air and water transport, eliminating a little dependence on the road sector is an interesting strategy. For this, the investments made in the infrastructure of these segments need to be bigger and better distributed. Both the government and the private transport logistics companies are beginning to realize that it is necessary to increase the capital injection, because only then will transport be expanded, following the demands of national production.
Searchs:
https://agenciadenoticias.ibge.gov.br/agencia-sala-de-imprensa/2013-agencia-de-noticias/releases/14707-asi-ibge-mapeia-a-infraestrutura-dos-transportes-no-brasil
https://www.todamateria.com.br/transportes-no-brasil/
https://www.prestex.com.br/blog/modais-de-transporte-de-carga-no-brasil-conheca-os-5-principais/
https://www.truckpad.com.br/blog/matriz-de-transporte-no-brasil-quais-sao-e-qual-e-a-mais-importante/#:~:text=Em%20rela%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20%C3%A0%20participa%C3%A7%C3%A3o%2C%20de,a%20carga%20transportada%20no%20pa%C3%ADs.
