The Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin) made an urgent call to the authorities to reestablish rail traffic on the Veracruz-Mexico City route, which has been blocked since September 24, affecting the transport of various products.
“We ask the authorities for support in reestablishing the rule of law as a basic mechanism for the efficient operation of various sectors of the logistics chain, which are currently severely impacted after eight days of service interruption,” he said in a statement.
He also requested support to ensure that conditions exist for the removal of railway equipment that is being held by residents and for trains to be moved through the area.
For his part, José Luis Valencia, director of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (Comce) Veracruz , agreed that the corresponding authorities must facilitate negotiations and reach an agreement with the residents.
“Above all, because of the economic impact that it effectively has on the movement of merchandise to and from the port of Veracruz, considering that the main manufacturing industrial centers of Puebla, Mexico City, and the State of Mexico are suffering this impact of not being able to move merchandise by this route and requiring to move it by truck,” he told T21.
He mentioned that by using road transport to transport their products, costs increase by up to 60% compared to rail freight.
It should be remembered that since September 24, residents of the Puente Colorado Chapulco community (128 km from the city of Puebla and 170 km from the Port of Veracruz) have blocked the train track, requesting attention to demands related to access to water.
Concamin reiterated that interrupting service on this section of the railway network that serves the Port of Veracruz and Mexico City affects the energy sector, the operation of the Salamanca and Tula refineries (shortage of fuel oil and import of refined products); the steel industry by preventing the supply of raw materials for the operation of the plants, as well as the plastics, automotive, auto parts and cement industries, among others.
The impact on the agricultural sector is worrying because this blockade prevents the daily evacuation of 20 thousand tons of grain destined for the center of the country, which will increase the cost of animal feed. Likewise, the shortage of chlorine is critical for Mexico City.
He also mentioned that rail traffic of general containerized cargo arriving at the port of Veracruz is affected, given the high season for year-end inventories.
With information from Enrique Duarte.
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