Containers were carried away – Newspaper Kommersant No. 3 (7448) dated 01/11/2023

Russian Railways, despite a sharp deterioration in conditions for international container traffic, showed an increase in container rail traffic by 0.3% at the end of the year, breaking the 2021 record. Market participants, despite the discrepancy between the data and the statistics of Russian Railways, also talk about a relatively good situation, the improvement of which is hindered by infrastructural restrictions. The companies are calling for further development of infrastructure, maintaining the appointment of additional trains to the Far East and solving problems with container traffic in the North-West.

JSC Russian Railways reported that in 2022 it reached peak indicators for the transportation of containers. In all types of communication, the monopoly claims, 6.52 million TEU were sent, which is 0.3% more than in 2021. The growth in traffic was facilitated by the development of the technology for loading them into gondola cars (for more details, see Kommersant of September 28 and October 31, 2022) and the organization of the movement of dual trains, Russian Railways explains. Among the leaders in terms of shipment dynamics in containers are fertilizers (growth by 2.6 times), grain (by 63.6%), fish products (32.4%), salt (29.9%) and building materials (20.5%). %).

Container traffic suffered a shock in the spring of 2022 when shipping lines and European hubs stopped working with Russia, which brought container ports in the Northwest to a halt. China-Europe-China transit also noticeably decreased, where the drop was 32-35%, while the volumes were replaced by export-import and transit flows that do not include Europe (see Kommersant dated December 20, 2022).

The statistics of Russian Railways includes the transportation of empty containers. FESCO, which takes into account only loaded containers in ports and on the railway, reported that over the 11 months of 2022, the Russian container market decreased by 15.6%, to 5 million TEU, including imports – by 13%, exports – by 24 %, and transit – by 23%. Russian Railways does not specify indicators for export, import and transit of containers.

“The turnaround of logistics to the east led to an increased load on the Eastern test site, the infrastructure of which was not ready for such an increase, resulting in an imbalance in export and import flows,” TransContainer reports. improve the situation by allocating additional container trains for export to the Far East and the active use of gondola cars to take containers out of the region.”

“We confirm the high growth rates of container traffic,” Sergey Avseykov, executive director of the Eurasian Union of Rail Freight Transport Participants (ESP), told Kommersant. “At the same time, demand is constrained by infrastructure restrictions.” According to him, the technology of loading into gondola cars has shown itself to be an effective tool for exporting imports and balancing cargo flows. According to him, it is necessary to stimulate the unloading of containers from gondola cars no closer than the West Siberian Railway: “Otherwise, there are not enough platforms for gondola cars and for the export of goods at the same time.” Also, he notes, it is necessary in 2023 to maintain the appointment of an additional three container trains per day in the direction of the Far East for the export of goods with a possible increase to five. According to Mr. Avseykov, long-term state support for the development of its own container fleet is also needed to restore traffic through the ports of the North-West.

TransContainer believes that in order to further improve the situation, it is necessary to continue work on the modernization of infrastructure, including approaches to border crossings and ports. It is also necessary to closely monitor the balance of rolling stock and containers in different parts of the country so that solving problems in one place (for example, limiting the sending of loaded flights in domestic traffic to some railways in Siberia) does not create problems for exporters from these regions when exporting products to east, add to the company.

Russian Railways told Kommersant that they expect the positive trend in container transportation to continue in 2023: “For this purpose, it is planned to develop new foreign trade transportation routes, expand the geography of the technology for loading containers into gondola cars, and increase the number of twin trains on the limiting directions of the railway network. expensive.”

FESCO draws attention to the restrained forecasts for the development of the Russian economy for 2023, so “it is not necessary to talk about double-digit growth in container traffic, as it has been in recent years”, in addition, the factors of covid restrictions and lockdowns, infrastructure restrictions and a sharp change in exchange rates remain currencies. According to FESCO, the Russian container market in 2023 may remain at the level of the previous year or show a slight increase due to the low base effect of the second quarter of 2022.

Natalya Skorlygina