Now, due to Covid: container shipments by rail are being canceled in northern China. What about road transport?
The growth in trade turnover between Russia and China was called a record in 2021, and as of November 2022, the record has already been broken – the number of cargoes is growing. Slowly but surely, the Chinese are replacing European importers, and the Russians are selling energy resources on the eastern market that were recently intended for Europe. A little more – and sales of trucks made in China will overtake domestic brands in Russia, but there are not only advantages to the growth.
As Dmitry Sukhoversha, head of multimodal transportation at FM Logistic in Russia, told RZD-Partner, traffic jams began to form on the Russia-China route.
The ports of the Far East are overloaded – a ship can wait 2 weeks or more at the roadstead of the unloading port.
When sending direct trains from China, there are delays at border crossings.
Starting from October 19, trains from the People’s Republic of China destined for the Moscow hub station stand idle in Russia.
Delivery times for goods from China to Russia in general and to Moscow in particular depend on the type of transport and route:
by plane the goods will arrive in 2–3 days;
by rail – 3–4 weeks;
along a multimodal route through the ports of the Far East, and then by rail – up to 45 days or more.
According to Sukhoversh, in order for the goods to arrive in Moscow before the beginning of 2023, if delivered by container, shipment from China must occur no later than November 20.
Good news: sea freight rates to the ports of Vladivostok and Vostochny have begun to decline – and this is during the high season. Offers have appeared on the market for container transportation by sea routes from China to the ports of Novorossiysk and St. Petersburg with transshipment outside the EU.
If the directions continue to develop, the situation on the container shipping market will stabilize in 2023.
Bad news: delivery times have been unexpectedly affected by the coronavirus infection. In November, some railway stations in China’s northern regions began canceling shipments. The reason is the worsening epidemiological situation.
Obviously, after the cancellation of freight transportation by rail, problems may arise with the delivery of cargo by automobiles. However, organizing the transfer of cargo at the Blagoveshchensk-Heihe border crossing can reduce tension.
