Despite posting record figures in 2022, rail freight volumes along the New Silk Road for DB Cargo Eurasia decreased by around 50 per cent this year. According to Frank Erschkat, Senior Vice President of Intermodal Sales at DB Cargo, the drop was already visible within the first two to three months of 2023. The main causes behind this trend, Erschkat said, are to be identified in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a significant drop in sea freight rates.

A similar course was highlighted by Matthias Kirchgasser, CEO of Rail Cargo Operator, a subsidiary of Austrian Rail Cargo Group, who claimed that the industry is currently under a lot of pressure. For example, RCG is looking to increase services along the Middle Corridor, the infrastructure connecting China to Europe bypassing Russia. Both Erschkat’s and Kirchgasser’s statements were reported by German media DVZ during a Combined Transport Conference in Hamburg.

The drops in sea freight rates have been highlighted by various industry players throughout 2023. For example, Christian Roeloffs, CEO of Container xChange, said in August that this trend could start a ‘price war’ that would benefit the shipping sector over the rail freight industry. Needless to say, the war in Ukraine also had a major impact on China-Europe freight trains. Many of these trains are now ending their journey in Russia rather than reaching the European Union. Moreover, more focus has been put on the Middle Corridor, with, for example, the creation of the first joint venture between Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia.