Logisticians announced an increase in demand for road transport between Russia and China

The number of applications for the transportation of goods from China to RUSSIA by road increased sharply in the first half of the year, Vedomosti reported, citing representatives of logistics companies and the ATI.SU exchange.

As co-owner and deputy DIRECTOR of the transport company PEK Vadim Filatov told the newspaper, the number of applications for such transportation in January-June increased by 32% year-on-year, the volume of actual transportation by 30%. He did not give absolute values, but noted that against the backdrop of growing demand, the cost of auto delivery from China to the central part of Russia has increased by more than 20% since May (up to $10,000–12,500 for a 20-ton truck).

Director of the regional development department of the Association of International Road Carriers (ASMAP) Vadim Filchenkov also told Vedomosti that in the first half of 2024 alone , Russian international road carriers operated more than 60 thousand flights with cargo between Russia and China - almost 1.5 times more compared to the corresponding period in 2023. At the same time, the number of applications for auto delivery of goods from other countries in the second quarter increased by 20% year-on-year, and in the first half of the year by 17%, according to data from the ATI.SU freight exchange.

The general director of the logistics company Trasko, Evgeniy Shakalida, also speaks about the increase in the number of applications for the transportation of goods from China to Russia in the first half of the year. According to him, the growth in transportation from China by truck was caused by the ongoing shortage of containers at sea and land terminals in China for sending them by rail to Russia. At the same time, the company’s freight rates for heavy-duty trucks in this direction decreased by 30% in annual terms over the first six months, the businessman added. Shakalida connects this with the stabilization of the situation regarding the passage of trucks at border checkpoints across the Russian-Chinese border.

On the other hand, Monika Paulauskaite, HEAD of the international logistics service at SDEK, said that the company “is receiving information from our agents about the increase in queues at border crossings from China when transporting by road.” According to her, over the past two months the company has received more than 100 requests for calculation of rates for intermodal transportation of goods from China, although it had not previously dealt with this area at all. Rates for the delivery of groupage cargo by truck here increased by 10% in the first half of the year, she added.

Founder and director of ATI.SU Svyatoslav Vilde linked the “sharp increase” in applications for the transportation of goods from China with problems with other modes of transport, primarily with rail transportation from China. “Suppliers are forced to switch to delivery by road, although it is traditionally considered unprofitable in the Chinese direction, at least when it comes to delivery to the regions of the European part of Russia,” he noted.

In early June, interlocutors in the transportation market informed Kommersant about a sharp increase in prices for imported container transportation due to an acute shortage of empty containers in the country. According to Delo Group, since the beginning of the year, spot freight rates have doubled, and in May alone - by about 50%. Experts said the main reason was the conflict in the Red Sea, which forced ships to go around the Cape of Good Hope. As explained by the head of Trans Synergy (part of the ESP) Stanislav Stankevich, an increase in the duration of the flight required the involvement of a larger number of containers, which, in turn, led to a decrease in their stock in China.

Anastasia Kizuleva, executive vice president for maritime logistics at Noytech Supply Chain Solutions, also told the newspaper that the shortage of containers has been observed since April and is developing exponentially: “If in April the equipment was available, but the waiting time increased, then in May the shipping lines already stated that There are enough containers in the main ports for one or two ships.” In China, the shortage has become constant, although up to 3 million units of various containers are produced there annually, “the country sends more goods than it receives from all over the world,” said SOTA Logistic Business Development Director Igor Chernyshev.

Thus, the average cost of sea delivery from China to Russia has increased by 30% or more since the beginning of May, to $1.9–2.1 thousand for a 20-foot container and to $2.5–3 thousand for a 40-foot container. said the operating director of the Asian direction of PEC: Global Sergey Safoninkov.

Executive Director of the National Union of Transport and Logistics Experts Olga Fedotkina clarified to Vedomosti that there is still a shortage of free containers on the railways in China today, which is why the market is forced to use an alternative delivery method - truck transport. In addition, restrictions on trade turnover arise due to difficulties in making payments between Russia and China, as well as a reduction in positions for transportation, as a result of which certain goods cannot be transported across the border at all, Fedotkina added.

According to the General Administration of Customs of China dated July 12, in the first half of 2024, exports of goods from China to Russia increased by almost 2% compared to the same period in 2023 and amounted to 366.81 billion yuan in monetary terms. In DOLLAR terms, however, Chinese exports of goods to Russia in the first half of 2024 decreased by 0.8%, to $51.66 billion. At the same time, exports in June grew for the second month in a row after a decline observed in March-April amid problems with payments .