NLMK Group, an international steel company with assets in Russia, the USA and the EU, has doubled the volume of export container deliveries of electrical steel to 100,000 tonnes in 2015. As a result of expanding the range of container cargo handling operations, NLMK was able to save approximately 110 million rubles.

Previously, finished products were transported via road and railway to the ports, before being loaded into containers. Now, starting from 2013 for VIZ-Steel in Yekaterinburg, and from 2014 for the Lipetsk site, dynamo and transformer steel coils are loaded into containers directly on site. Currently, approximately 20% of all electrical steel deliveries are shipped in containers.

Compared to the use of railway cars, containers allow significantly cutting transportation costs for key destinations; reducing lead times; and minimizing the risk of damage in the process of transporting and handling the goods.

Sergei Likharev, NLMK Group Vice President for Logistics, said:

“Our key goal is to further develop the operational and commercial efficiency of NLMK Group’s logistics and supply chain management. Transitioning to container deliveries is one of the most promising areas of improvement. In the course of 2016, we plan to grow the share of electrical steel shipped in containers to no less than 50% of total shipments.”

In 2015, NLMK Group became the first Russian steel company to be granted the right to receive and process containers with a gross weight of up to 41 tonnes at the Lipetsk production site. Expanding the range of cargo handling operations to include large-tonnage containers is in line with the ‘Russian Railways’ strategy for the comprehensive development of the domestic container business.