Cement seized on the roads – Newspaper Kommersant No. 65 (7510) dated 04/14/2023
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Cement producers facing rising shipping costs face an additional challenge. In many regions, every spring, the passage of heavy vehicles is restricted during the drying of roads after the snow melts. Cement workers are asking the Ministry of Industry and Trade to check its validity, since, in their opinion, the measure is often introduced without preliminary checks of the condition of the roadway. The authorities of the regions consider drying necessary: refusal of it leads to additional costs for road repairs. The construction of highways from cement can solve the problem, business counters.
At the disposal of Kommersant was a letter where Soyuzcement (unites major players in the industry) asks the Ministry of Industry and Trade to check the validity of the decisions of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation on the introduction of restrictions on movement on regional roads in the spring. The association also asks to involve the Ministry of Transport in resolving the issue. In the Ministry of Transport, Kommersant’s questions were forwarded to Rosavtodor, where they did not provide a comment. Deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Viktor Yevtukhov confirmed to Kommersant that he had received the letter. “The cement industry is clearly signaling additional pressure, including financial, due to spring restrictions,” he says, adding that such measures should only be applied in individual cases and for a short time.
The regions introduce a ban on the movement of heavy vehicles on the roads for drying roads for up to 30 days in April-June. Roads after the winter are especially sensitive to loads, it is necessary to “give time for the water to leave the pavement structure,” the road committee of the Leningrad Region explains. The decision on the introduction and dates of restrictions, the maximum weight and parameters of vehicles, cargo for which restrictions are made, the regions take independently. Since 2018, traffic has not been restricted on federal roads in the spring. At the regional level, measures were introduced this year in 67 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, including Bashkortostan, Mordovia, Bryansk, Ryazan, Lipetsk, Voronezh regions, and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Last year, such a measure was in effect in 50 regions, Soyuzcement reports.
The association believes that restrictions are often introduced unreasonably. “The results of the assessment of the state of the roads are not published,” says Vitaly Bogachenko, director of corporate relations at Cementum. Cement workers indicate that the Ministry of Transport recommends that the regions make a decision after measuring the depth of soil freezing and deflection of the roadway.
The regions themselves consider seasonal restrictions for heavy trucks necessary. “Last year, due to the moratorium on restrictions, we practically lost three regional roads and unscheduled repairs required an additional 2 billion rubles,” says Vladimir Vospanchuk, head of the highway department of the Novosibirsk Region. The southern regions are forced to impose restrictions on trucks at temperatures above 32 degrees. The movement of vehicles with excess load leads to softening of the asphalt and deformation of the pavement, explained Kommersant in the Ministry of Transport of the Rostov Region.
According to Soyuzcement, 59%, or 36.4 million tons, of cement was transported by road in 2022.
Cemros Procurement and Logistics Director Denis Nazarov explains that cement is transported by trucks over distances of up to 300–400 km, and it is more profitable to carry out long-distance deliveries by rail. During the drying period of roads, cement plants carry out delivery, reducing loading: with a maximum load of 6 tons per axle, the figure is reduced from the usual 25–26 tons to 14. “And if a limit of five tons per axle is introduced, even an empty truck cannot meet the requirements,” says Mr. Nazarov. The fine for violating the rules, according to the expert, is up to 500 thousand rubles. and is imposed on the carrier and consignor of the goods.
The first vice-president of Sibcement, Valery Bodrenkov, points out that when moving, bulk cargo can move in the body, increasing the load on a certain axle: “The process is almost impossible to control.” Costs are rising as businesses purchase and maintain weighing equipment and pay fines. These difficulties lead to an increase in the cost of transportation by 30%, adds Logistics Director of SLK Cement Evgeny Grishchenko.
Vladimir Guz, managing partner of SMPRO, believes that a local shortage of cement is forming at the moment, which leads to an increase in prices for building materials. Olga Fedotkina, executive director of the National Union of Transport and Logistics Experts, adds that almost all industries have difficulties due to drying roads, with the exception of suppliers of perishable goods. “Load requirements vary from region to region, meaning they will change along the route,” she explains. Mr. Guz believes that the way out of the situation may be the construction of roads from cement, which will eliminate the need to dry them.
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