China-Europe freight trains weekly commentary（Oct.31-Nov.6)

China-Europe freight train operation Updates (Week 45)

In the 45th week, the fourth quarter of 2022?witnessed?a further?decline?on regional trade. According to the data released by Markit, the comprehensive PMI of the Europe area in October was 47.1, which was lower than the confidence threshold for four consecutive months. The cargo volume of European-bound routes remained low, and the spot freight rate continued to decline. At present, the ocean freight rate for European-bound routes have dropped to about 2200/FEU. Affected by this, the transport demand of the China-Europe freight train stays weak. There are still a few spaces left at major platforms such as Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Yiwu and Hefei in late November. The overall transport efficiency enjoys obvious advantages over maritime transport. The total transit time from Chongqing, Chengdu and Xi'an to Mala is 11-12 days, 17-20 days to Duisburg, and 28-30 days to Nuremberg, Budapest and other terminals.

This week, the Russian-bound lines are still hot, but compared with last week, the tension has eased. The major platform company has made clear the transportation schedules to public, and the market has gradually become clear. The average T/T of trains from Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Guiyang, Zengcheng, Ganzhou and other stations to Russia is about 14-27 days, of which the trains from Guiyang are still stable at 14-18 days. At present, the total T/T?of China-Russia sea-rail intermodal transport exceeds 40 days, and the congestion Vladivostok has not improved significantly, as a result of which, industry insiders revealed to CargoTalk that there are many inquiries on the east-bound China-Europe Express recently.

Affected by the epidemic, trucking transport in different regions of China are blocked to varying degrees. There is a rumor that some temporary freight trains from Gansu to Urumqi have been reserved along the way because of the epidemic control, but no official information has been seen for the time being. There is no significant change in the container leasing price compared with last week. The rental price of containers from East China and South China to Russia and Europe remains at about US$1000-1200.

Armenia seeking new transit corridor through Iran

Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Rostam Qasemi met with Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan on Tuesday in which the Armenian side expressed interest in forming a new transit route through Iran to access Persian Gulf countries.

As published in the portal of Iran’s Transport Ministry, in this meeting,?the two sides reached an agreement to expand and develop the International North-South Transit Corridor in the Iranian territory from Nordoz border to Varzeqan and Tabriz.According to Qasemi, with the addition of a new Iran-Armenia section to the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC), the capacity of moving goods and transit through INSTC will be significantly improved.

Baku hosts meeting of experts on multimodal transport and railway digitalization

A meeting of experts on digitalization of multimodal transport and railways in North and Central Asia has been held in Baku under the organization of the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, in cooperation with the Secretariat of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

The event was attended by representatives of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, as well as representatives of the UNESCAP secretariat, UNESCAP Subregional Office for North and Central Asia (SONCA), International Union of Railways (UIC), TRACECA and other international organizations.

It should be noted that taking into account the important role of digitalization in the development of the transport system in the Asia-Pacific region, the ESCAP secretariat is implementing a technical assistance project on?“New technologies and digital transformation to enhance sustainability and competitiveness of railway operations in North and Central Asia”.

China-Laos Railway "Cross-border RMB Settlement" International Freight Train Departs?in Sichuan

On October 29, a freight train carrying 25 containers of sepiolite with a value of about 1.2 million yuan?departed?from Gongxing Station of Chengdu-Kunming Railway,?and left?from Mohan Port in Yunnan.It?was expected to?arrive in Brabang,Laos?within?72 hours.And it marks the departure of the first "cross-border RMB settlement" international freight train on the China-Laos Railway in Sichuan, which will comprehensively build integrated services of logistics, trade and finance for foreign trade enterprises.

600th train of year heads to Europe from S China

The 600th China-Europe freight train from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area this year?—?this one loaded with 100 containers of goods?—?departed on Nov.2 from a logistics zone in the Zengcheng district of Guangzhou.

The train will pass through Horgos Port in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, according to Guangzhou Railway Group.The number of China-Europe trains departing from the Greater Bay Area has reached a historic high this year, with a growth of 287 trains, or an increase of 85 percent year-on-year, helping deliver 356,800 tons of industrial and supply chain materials.

Jiangsu sees freight volume growth in first three quarters

Jiangsu province has posted steady growth in its railway and waterway freight volumes in the first three quarters of 2022, helping stabilize the supply chain and industrial chain, the local transportation department said.

The province reported over 64.6 million tons of railway freight and 800 million tons of waterway freight in the first nine months, up 7.3 percent and 14.5 percent, year-on-year, respectively.Currently, Jiangsu has 89 international routes in waterway transportation, including new sea routes linking Nanjing, its capital city, with Ho Chi Minh City and Taicang City with Europe.The province also boasts 23 China-Europe freight train routes linking its five cities with regions including Europe and Southeast Asia.

New energy vehicles made in Chongqing shipped to Europe via China-Europe?freight?train

Recently, the first batch of "Chongqing-made" new energy vehicles has been declared, released, loaded and shipped under the supervision of Yuzhou Customs in the Chongqing International Logistics Hub Park in Shapingba District.?It?marks Yuxinou has successfully transported "Chongqing-made" new energy vehicles?for?the first time.