The congestion at ports and terminals had slightly eased. The reloading work at Alashankou and Khorgos took about 5-7 days; that at Manzhouli was about 6-15 days; for Erenhot is about 6-18 days, which is a significant improvement compared to last week.

Overall, the efficiency in the European direction routes remains stable. The T/T from domestic stations to Mala is about 11-12 days, and to Duisburg and Budapest is about 16-18 days. In the Russian direction, the it took about 17-18 days for trains to travel from domestic stations to Moscow , with exception for those via Erenhot taking up to 30 days. Generally speaking,  it takes about 24-25 days from inner cities of China to St. Petersburg.  

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

European route:

Westbound trips - In December, the supply of spaces in Chengdu is slightly tight, only a few spaces are open to public at mid of the month on public and customized trains . There is sufficient supply of spaces in Xi'an, those on regular and express trains to Duisburg are still waiting to be sold.  Zhengzhou also provide abundant FCL and LCL spaces destined for Hamburg, Munich, Liege, Warsaw, and Katowice. Trains from Jinhua terminals are scheduled to depart every Saturday, with available spaces in early December; There a small number of empty ones remaining in Jinan in early December, and the plans and prices for the Suzhou are yet to be announced.

Eastbound trips - When most booking prices at major platforms released this week, trains returning to Chongqing from Duisburg, Hamburg, and Mala runs stably, departing every Friday; The spaces for Duisburg-Yiwu and Mala-Yiwu are tight, with prices rising by $400 in December; As of Monday morning, cabins returning to Zhengzhou from Munich, Liege, Milan, Warsaw, Brest and other places are temporarily suspended, and specific plans are awaiting for further notice.

Russian route: 

The cargo volume is relatively low at this time of year. In December, there were sufficient spaces for Xi'an- Moscow trips, and prices were slightly cut by 5%; Part of the Chengdu-Moscow plan has been reduced, and the supply tightened a little. Currently, there are relatively few remaining cabins, which are in high demand. Chengdu-Minsk runs more frequently , resulting in a slight price decrease in December. Zhengzhou, Suzhou, Jinhua, Yiwu and other stations got sufficient spaces to be booked, and the booking prices have not changed much.

Central Asia route: 

The supply is relatively sufficient until mid to early December. At the beginning of the month, there are vacant spaces open on trips from Xi’an to Khorgos and Alashankou, and at the middle of the month, there are vacant ones to Almaty and Tashkent, and the booking price has increased by 2000-3300 respectively. FCL and LCL service are all welcomed at trains from Zhengzhou to Tashkent.

Article source: Cargo Talk