JSC Russian Railways said Jan. 14 that it bought nearly 8% more rails from Evraz PLC but 36% fewer rails from rival Mechel PAO in 2018.

The state-owned railway company purchased 775,600 tonnes of rails from Evraz and 209,900 tonnes from Mechel, compared to 719,800 tonnes and 329,000 tonnes, respectively, in 2017.

Russian Railways' overall rail purchases fell about 6.7% to 985,500 tonnes in 2018 from just over 1 million tonnes in 2017.

Evraz, which booked a US$1.1 billion net profit for the first half of 2018, had said it signed a new five-year contract to supply Russian Railways with rails. The steelmaker has an 81% share of the Russian market for rails.