The construction of a railway is closely linked to the availability of freight within its area of influence. For a railway project to be economically viable, a substantial volume of cargo must be available. This is the case of Ferronorte, which provides a transportation corridor for soybeans produced in the state of Mato Grosso to reach the Port of Santos (SP).
Ferronorte and soybean production in Mato Grosso
Figure 1 presents the soybean production available in the state of Mato Grosso in 2014 that could potentially be transported through Ferronorte via the Rondonópolis Rail Terminal. The map also shows that many of the largest soybean-producing municipalities are located far from the terminal, requiring significant road transportation before the cargo can be transferred to rail.
Figure 1 – Ferronorte andsoybean production in Mato Grosso
Soybean production origins slassified by distance to the Rondonópolis Rail Terminal
Using a spatial query, soybean production can be classified according to its distance from the Rondonópolis terminal, as illustrated in Figure 2.
Figure 2 – Soybean production origins classified by distance to the Rondonópolis Rail Terminal
The potential volume of soybeans that can be transported by truck to the Rondonópolis terminal is presented in Table 1. Approximately 80% of the soybean production in Mato Grosso is located within 300 kilometers of the terminal, highlighting the strategic importance of the facility for grain logistics.
Table 1 – Potential Soybean Freight at the Rondonópolis Rail Terminal
Distance from Rondonópolis Terminal (km) | Soybean Production by Municipality (t) – 2014 |
Up to 100 | 1.249.940 |
Up to 100 | 5.880.897 |
Up to 300 | 17.871.370 |
| Up to 500 | 24.587.315 |
The results presented can support the estimation of freight demand for Ferronorte and assist in planning road transportation services between soybean-producing municipalities and the Rondonópolis terminal.
Applications
This type of analysis can be used to:
- Estimate potential rail freight demand.
- Evaluate the economic viability of transportation infrastructure.
- Support logistics and transportation planning.
- Identify strategic locations for intermodal terminals.
- Optimize truck-to-rail transfer operations.
- Analyze agricultural supply chains.
- Support infrastructure investment decisions.
The combination of agricultural production data and transportation networks provides valuable insights into the relationship between commodity production and logistics infrastructure.
Data Sources and Software
The figures presented in this article were generated in QGIS using the following datasets:
Municipal Boundaries – 2005 and 2007
Soybean Production by Municipality in Brazil
This analysis demonstrates how GIS can be used to integrate agricultural production data with transportation infrastructure, providing valuable information for logistics planning and freight transportation studies.