In May, an absolute record was achieved in the transport of containers by rail between China and Europe, informs the China National Railway Group. During this period, the enterprise sent and received 1,033 sets of trains, which transported a total of 93,000 TEU of cargo.
This represents an annual growth of 43% (for comparison, 3,700 trains travelled both ways in 2017).
In May, 556 sets were sent from China to Europe, transporting a total of 50,000 TEU. That’s 52% more than last May. The loading rate of containers was as high as 99.9%. In the return direction, 477 sets of trains were sent (+39%) with 43,000 TEU of cargo (+44%). For trains travelling from the EU to China, the loading rate reached 96.4%. It is worth adding that between 2014-2016 the loading of trains from the EU to China oscillated around 50%.
Several factors contributed to the increase in the volume of cargo shipped along this route: the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in demand for medical supplies, the takeover by road transport of some of the goods that were previously shipped by air and sea. This has also been made possible by increasing international cargo capacity through simplification of procedures and infrastructural investments. The increase in train activity on Chinese routes has also resulted in new agreements and international cooperation with operators from other countries such as Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
In May, medicines and medical devices were the principal goods shipped to Europe. During this time, trains from China transported a total of almost 2 million medical products: masks, protective clothing sets, non-contact thermometers and safety glasses. These products were shipped, among others, to:
- Russia,
- Belarus,
- Poland,
- Germany,
- Holland,
- the Czech Republic,
- Lithuania,
- Spain,
- Hungary,
- Belgium,
- France,
- Italy.
- Photo: China Railway