Transporte ferroviário de cargas: desafios e oportunidades para o aumento da participação no transporte de container na região sudeste brasileira

Abstract

In Brazil, it is estimated that the logistical cost represents about 11% of GDP, of which 60% refers to transportation. Despite its relative importance, there is still a scenario of significant inefficiency of the Brazilian cargo transport matrix, characterized by the predominance of the use of the road mode, to the detriment of modes of lower unit cost, such as rail and waterway. Thus, the objective of this research is to propose actions that contribute to increase the participation of the railroad in the Brazilian container transport matrix. In order to reach the proposed objectives, a quantitative approach was chosen, starting with the accomplishment of 7 interviews with semi-structured itineraries with specialists in cargo transportation and, later, the application of a structured research questionnaire with representatives of 96 Companies that use containerized cargo transportation in the Southeast region of Brazil. The main attributes considered as defining the decision-making processes of the modal choice were the freight price, the delivery time and the regularity of compliance of this same time. Among the perceptions obtained from users, it is noteworthy that 39% of the sample is dissatisfied with the performance currently presented by companies that provide cargo transportation services. It was also observed that only 7% of the companies surveyed used the railroad to transport containers in the last 5 years, highlighting the main causes, the lack of access to the rail network and the difficulties of infrastructure. They also emphasized the lower cost and the gains in scale as the main advantages of the railroad in relation to the other modes of transportation. In this sense, as a conclusion of the research, it is understood that any initiative that reduces these barriers, such as the incentive to the expansion of the rail network by private and governmental initiatives, the search for multimodality and the expansion of multimodal terminals is fundamental for the increase of the railroad's share in the Brazilian cargo transport matrix, thus generating a better balance of the cargo transport system