Since the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of the territory of Ukraine, cargo transportation from China to Russia has decreased.

Reduced freight rail transportation

This is reported by the railway magazine Railway Supply, citing the South China Morning Post.

The latest data from Chinese customs showed that across the country, the value of exports to Russia fell 7.7% in March, or to $3.8 billion, the lowest value of deliveries since May 2020.

“After the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, China-Europe freight trains are still operating, but it is becoming more and more difficult to deal with deliveries,” Chinese analyst said. “Shippers and freight forwarders are reducing or suspending bookings or moving to shipping routes between China and Europe that are far from war zones, potentially adding to cargo delays and increasing transport costs.”

First of all, this is noticeable in terms of the volume of cargo traffic between the city of Shenzhen and the Russian Federation. After all, the Chinese city is home to well-known exporters such as telecommunications equipment giant Huawei Technologies Co and drone manufacturer DJI, as well as a gateway to many small manufacturers in the Pearl River Delta region, the country’s manufacturing and export hub.

Freight volumes from Shenzhen, according to freight forwarders, fell by almost a third.

Jason Wu, general manager of Shenzhen Xinsheng Freight Forwarding Co (an agency that helps exporters find vehicles to transport goods), said the impact was almost immediate as many Russian customers canceled or delayed their orders. So the company’s order volume has fallen by 30% since the beginning of the war.

Another freight forwarder from a logistics company in Shenzhen said that its business has fallen by 20-30% relative to cargo bound for Russia. “After the war, interest in shopping in China declined,” he said.

At the same time, Chinese transport service providers are hoping for an increase in volumes due to the fact that many major players in the logistics market have left the aggressor country. Therefore, they will be forced to apply to Chinese companies.

As previously reported, China has launched a new route to Germany, bypassing the Russian Federation.

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