Container freight rates from China to Russia fell by 30% in March from their peak earlier this year
Shipping and rail container freight rates from China to Russia fell by as much as 30 percent in March from the peaks reached in January and February, according to a report on the website of Russia Railway Partners, citing data from the First Freight Forwarding Company.
In mid-March, sea freight rates for a 20-foot container from a Chinese port to Vladivostok, Russia, fell to $3,000 from $4,000-4,500 in January, while sea freight rates for a 40-foot container fell to $5,700 from $6,500.
Container rail rates fell to $6,000-7,000 in March from $9,000 in January and February.
Container rates began to fall after the end of the Chinese New Year holiday, as container shortages eased. This has to do with the gradual recovery of cargo flows and the shipping of empty containers from the US and European countries to China. The article notes that the cost of shipping goods from China by sea and rail has been reduced by an average of 12%-30%.
