05 april 2024 — 14:00
Transit shipments of goods in containers from China to the European Union (EU) via Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus increased by 44% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024 and amounted to almost 90,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent), Vedomosti reports.
Alexey Shilo, Deputy General Director and Head of the Russian Railways Corporate Transport Service Center, told reporters about this.
According to him, the growth of container traffic in this direction in the second quarter will be at the level of 30-40%. He recalled that the speed of container transportation by rail from the borders with China to the borders with the EU is 5-7 days. This is 3 times faster than by container ship through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, and 5 times faster than by sea bypassing along the southwestern coast of Africa.
"There were low freight rates, so for those goods that do not need to be transported in a hurry, the economy was chosen first. From the point of view of urgent and expensive goods, where the speed of transportation is required, our route remains the most attractive," Shilo explained. The lowest freight rates were in November 2023, shortly before the problems with navigation in the Red Sea began.
The Houthi attacks on civilian vessels in the Red Sea, which began at the end of 2023, significantly hampered commercial shipping in this area. The largest container lines were forced to send vessels bypassing the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), as a result of which freight rates in this direction increased at least twice. As a result, since December, requests for container transportation along the continental route have increased by 40%, the Financial Times wrote in March 2024, citing data from the DHL logistics company.
According to Shilo, transit from China to Belarus also showed a significant increase in the first quarter – by 68% year-on-year to 135,000 TEU.
The Fesco Group also notes the growth of container traffic between the Republic of Belarus and China. According to preliminary estimates of the company, in the first quarter of 2024, 10% more cargo was shipped from Belarus to Asia and 35% more in the opposite direction compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.
Demand for Belarusian exports is growing in Asian countries, and primarily in China, a Fesco representative said. These are fertilizers, woodworking products and timber, he lists. The import flow to Belarus from Asia is also increasing. In this direction, Fesco mainly carries cars and machine kits, machine tools and equipment, consumer goods.
One of the growth factors is the further containerization of goods to Belarus and the growth of production in the country, the source explains. Fesco expects such trends to continue in the second quarter, but they will be held back by infrastructure constraints at the Eastern Railway Range (BAM and Transsib).