Russian Railways expects slight drop in freight loading, 7% growth of container shipments in Jan

MOSCOW. Jan 31 (Interfax) - Russian Railways (RZD) expects a slight decrease in freight loading in January, but a 7% increase in container shipments, the company's deputy CEO and head of its central traffic management directorate, Mikhail Glazkov told reporters.

"In January as a whole there is a slight decrease [in loading], in the eastern direction there is growth," he said.

The "market situation has changed significantly" in January, "and it's not quite correct to compare with 2024, because temporary freight shipment rules were in effect last year, but as of January 1 we're operating by the rules of non-discriminatory access," Glazkov said.

"Also, customers' approach to the possibilities of shipments has changed somewhat. Accordingly, higher-return, but lighter freight, freight that generates more added value and a greater contribution to Russia's GDP is being shipped. This is container shipments, oil freight, fertilizer," he said.

"If you look eastward, we're shipping 5.6% more now compared to last year's level. And this is not just coal. Larger amounts of containers, fertilizer are going this year, and fertilizer is showing strong growth for the second year," Glazkov said, adding that fertilizer shipments in January are up 10% year-on-year.

Metals, which previously had lower priority and could not be shipped on the limited route, are also being shipped, he said.

Container shipments have seen strong growth in recent years and last year was no exception, with growth of 5.9%, he said.

"We're continuing to use the technology of loading containers in gondola cars when shipping from the Far East. Last year, 406 trains were shipped in gondola cars, almost two times more than in 2023," Glazkov said.

"The Chinese New Year is now being celebrated, which is also affecting freight shipments. There might be a slight decrease in the delivery of container shipments, but since the start of the year we're already 7% higher than January last year," he said.

The official publication of RZD statistics on freight loading in January is expected on Monday, February 3.