Russia attracts cargoes

The volume of container traffic via the network of Russian Railways in service with Japan continues showing a positive trend. Thus, in January-February 2022, this figure increased by 28.3% compared with the same period last year. Despite the sanctions imposed on Russia, representatives of the Russian transport market note the interest of their foreign counterparts in further cooperation and plan to offer them even more logistics services and routes for cargo delivery.

As Russian Railways' deputy general representative in Japan Sergey Trushenkov told “1520.international”, the traffic volume via the network of Russian Railways in service with Japan increased by 28.3% over the first two months of the current year against the same period last year and amounted to 12,400 TEUs (20-foot container equivalent).  Positive dynamics is observed for all types of transportation. In particular, transit in communication with Japan increased threefold up to 1,900 TEUs.

“Today the main operators of cargo transportation between Japan and Russia in our country are FESCO transport group and PJSC “TransContainer”, he specified.

And despite the introduction of foreign sanctions against Russia, they continue such transportation today.

According to TransContainer's Director for Asia-Pacific Business Development Vladimir Khlutkov, the company routinely receives requests for shipments from the main ports of all Asia-Pacific countries, particularly Japan, and organizes transit shipments of these cargoes to Europe via the Far Eastern ports.

"We are delivering cargoes from anywhere in Russia through Nakhodka-Vostochnaya port railway station to all major ports in Japan. Our transit service through Brest-Malaszewicze (Belarus-Poland) border crossing point is in operation," specifies Vladimir Khlutkov.

Alexey Kravchenko, Director for Sales and Business Development at FESCO Integrated Transport (FIT, part of FESCO Group), notes that lumber, pulpwood, ferrous and nonferrous metals, and chemicals are regularly shipped from Russia to APR countries, including Japan. Russia mainly imports consumer goods (toys, clothes, and electronics), equipment, cars and spare parts.

To retain its international clients and attract new ones, FESCO representatives together with Russian Railways, the Federal Customs Service of Russia, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance and other participants in the transport chain continues developing information technologies, which simplify paperwork for clients as much as possible.

Vladimir Khlutkov specifies that the feedback from Transcontainer's own resident companies in the APR countries shows that the clients are disposed in a constructive way and trust it to transport their cargoes.

“Today, the main difficulty in logistics is a change in the usual patterns of work due to the suspension of shipments through Russia by major sea shipping lines. There are restrictions on the reception of goods from Russia in major European ports, - says Vladimir Khlutkov. - We believe that goods which used to go through the ports of the North-West and South will be reoriented to the Far Eastern ports and land border crossings, which means a twofold increase of cargo flow through the Eastern region”.

At the same time, FESCO's logistics routes will not change.

“The basis of our business is intermodal transportation via Vladivostok Commercial Sea Port, - specifies Alexey Kravchenko. - In this context, we are planning to develop shipments from the Asia-Pacific region even more actively and are considering the possibility of organizing new regular services in these directions”.

Anastasia Baranets