Congestion at Alashankou continued, and the average reloading takes about 2 weeks. Because the Stations 21 responsible for receiving imported grain at the Alashankou are undergoing maintenance in accordance with the requirements of China Railway, 60 bulk grain trains and 180 container trains were stranded in the section of Dostyk. On August 28, Kazakhstan announced a ban on the export of goods including grains, bran, oil seeds, and cakes from Sakshaoliskaya Railway Station (KZH) to China. Considering that the second rail line from Moyinte Station to Alashankou is also under construction, Kazakhstan extended the ban until September 20. It is expected that this measure will further prolong the handling time of Alashankou. Overall, the transit time of freight trains outbound through Alashankou and Khogors in both the European and Russian direction has been extended this week. The T/T from domestic stations to Malaszewicze is about 19-21 days, which is much longer than normal.

The supply of spaces and freight rates for each route are as follows:

European route:

The overall supply and demand for European outbound service are stable. This week, except for Chongqing, which cut their booking price by US$400, that on other major platforms were stable. There are still multiple schedules available for public trains in Chengdu after the 22nd. Spaces in Yiwu are relatively tight and those on the first express train on September 22 has been sold out. Only a small amount are left on Sep. 29th.

The returned service from Europe are operating normally. The supply in Xi'an and Wuhan have been tightened, and all spaces in September have been sold out. Booking prices on individual platforms have fluctuated this week - the return trip from Duisburg, Hamburg, and Malaszewicze to Chongqing has increased by US$300, while on the contrary, the return trip from Dalian has dropped by US$300.

Russian route:

The supply and demand in the Russian direction is stable, and spaces are in abundant supply. Spaces at Shijiazhuang, Xuzhou, Jinhua and other platforms are still open in mid-September. Due to the increasing container-leasing prices, the spot freight rate from Chongqing to Russia rose slightly this week. In order to solve the congestion at some stations in Moscow, Wuhan opened a new line from Wuhan to Sverdlovsk Oblast.

Central Asia route: 

The shipment volume in the Central Asian market is small and the spaces are sufficient. Taking Xi'an as an example, those will be available in Tashkent, Almaty and other places after the middle of this month.

Article source: Cargo Talk