Industry wants to achieve 40,000 cars

The railroad segment bets on the resume of growth, and the forecast for the next few years is of a new record production of cargo cars. The sector’s reference for success is the 1970s, which had economy development plans for Brazil and the production of 36,000 cargo cars. Vicente Abate, president of the Brazilian Association of the Railroad Industry (Associação Brasileira da Indústria Ferroviária (Abifer)), hopes to achieve over the next ten years a production of 40,000 units. “Brazil is investing heavily in infrastructure, and the expansion of the railroad network may boost the highest production since the 1970s,” states the executive.

The production of cargo cars in 2010 may exceed the week performance in 2009, when only 1,022 units were produced. According to Abifer, 2010 may end with 2,300 cars manufactured. The forecast for 2011 is even more optimistic: according to the entity, the production over the next 12 months may achieve 3,000 cars.

To this growth pace, the segment has asked to the Government to extend the Investment Program (Programa de Sustentação do Investimento (PSI)), from the Economic and Social National Development Bank (BNDES), expected to end in March. The entity intends to get this extension to late 2011.

“To be able to keep the level of growth without losing strength, we would need for the PSI to continue at least until the end of the year,” states the Abifer executive.

engers

With the expected expansion of the railroad network in Sao Paulo, the sector expects that at least 4,000 enger cars are produced until 2020. “For the next decade, we expect a significant increase in the railroads in São Paulo,” explains the president of the entity.

According to him, the extension of the lines, which currently are of 29,000 km, may achieve 41,000 km until 2020.

The production of enger railroad cars had a result below expected in 2010, in spite of having managed to balance the orders from the internal market with the exports.

The sales to the external market in 2010 maintained a level of approximately 10%. The sector may end 2010 with the production of 421 enger cars, from which 41 shall be exported. The performance will be slightly below the 2009 results, when 434 enger cars were produced, from which 374 units were exported.

Fonte: DCI