FESCO says Russian container market grew 13% in first quarter

MOSCOW. April 22 (Interfax) - The Russian container market grew 13% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, to 1.608 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), FESCO transport group said.

Imports increased 10% to 706,000 TEU, and exports were up 13% to 436,000 TEU. Domestic shipping increased 19% to 318,000 TEU, and transit rose 18%, to 148,000 TEU, the company's analysts said.

The market grew 13.3% in March 2024 YoY to 557,000 TEU. "The driver of growth relative to the same month last year continues to be transportation through the port of St. Petersburg," the company said.

Russia's container market consists of foreign trade and transit container turnover at the country's ports, foreign trade and transit container turnover via land crossings on the Russian Railways network, domestic transportation of containers via Russian Railways and cabotage transportation.

The FESCO transport group (the parent company is PJSC Far Eastern Shipping Company , FESCO) owns assets in the port, railway and integrated logistics businesses. FESCO owns the Commercial Port of Vladivostok , intermodal operator Fesco Integrated Transport, the Dalreftrans operator of refrigerated containers, as well as the Transgarant and Fesco Trans companies. The group operates terminal complexes in Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Tomsk and Vladivostok. The company manages a container fleet of more than 170,000 TEU, including over 11,000 fitting platform railcars. The group's fleet includes 37 vessels, which operate primarily on the company's own shipping lines.