Maritime lines raise prices and there are no space available on vessels. What are the options?

As container lines announce their General rate increase plans and implementation dates, the transport of containers by high-speed trains to China is rising. As the result of these GRI’s there might be speculation of space and price from freight forwarders. So the natural question is “What should I do?”. Nevertheless, there are possible solutions. It is possible to transfer part of the urgent cargo flow of goods to rail transport, with the necessary quantities being transported quickly, and major freight flows will still have to be carried by sea, as the space on trains is limited.

Number of trains to and from Europe

According to the latest data published by the National Rail Group, in 2019, between China and Europe there were 8225 trains, including 3110 trains to Europe and 2,711 trains to China; 1118 trains went to Russia while the return train volume was 988; another 297 trains went to Belarus with one return journey. In 2020 there is about 45% higher demand and quantity of trains. To my knowledge, about 80 trains are currently leaving China with destination Europe, but the return is still significantly lower.

In recent years, the National Railway Group and some Chinese cities have consistently implemented various policies to promote the development of returning trains. The total return on trains has evolved faster than in previous years. For example, some Chinese platforms have consistently begun trips back loaded with wood. However, the organisation of the supply chain for return trains still faces significant difficulties.

Comparisons between railway and sea carriers

From a quantity perspective, the monthly volume of imports by rail is about 45000 TEU. And this quantity is equivalent to the quantity of cargo that can be transported by the world’s two largest ships, HMM Algeciras and HMM Copenhagen, on a single voyage. You can read more about these monsters here.

Between January and July 2024, the Chinese-European Railway Express served a total of 11,403 trains, which is 12% more than a year, transporting 1.226 million trains. TEU cargo, which is 11%. This growth gives new impetus to the stabilisation of the supply chain and the promotion of trade between China and Europe. To date, China-Europe Railway Express has reached 25 countries and 224 cities in Europe and connected more than 100 cities in 11 Asian countries. Behind the growth of this large amount of cargo lies the constant improvement of the efficiency of transportation and the optimization of the structure of goods. Zhengzhou Putian Station, one of the largest gathering centers of the Chinese and European Railway Express, this year served 1,140 trains carrying 102,206 TEU freight in tens of thousands of categories

So today rail transport wins at speed, although it is not possible to transport large flows of cargo on it. However, as demand increases, prices for train transport are also rising.

Future forecast

In the case of imports, demand increased significantly due to the consumption of certain product groups caused by Covid19. That wave is felt today. Uab Onze’s freight capacity by rail has practically doubled, there is a severe lack of space and customers are deliberately trying to pay more so that only their cargo will leave faster.

Secondly, as the number of trains increases in 2024, this trend will continue in 2025. There will also be an increase in trains from Europe to China, as train operators will continue to partially subsidise this backward route.

Save your time

So in this world, where time = money, save your time and look for new opportunities. Today, in this situation in container shipping, the transport of containers by high-speed trains to China is very popular. Of course, getting space and container on firts departing train might be a challenge, but it will be much faster than sea transport and almost as fast as air transport.