Tag Archives: containers

Investments in new container terminals in Primorye will amount to more than 170 billion rubles

December 16 2022

Primorsky region experienced a full-scale “turn to the East” in 2022

Governor of Primorsky region Oleg Kozhemyako announced the priorities of the investment policy of the region for 2023. In his investment message, delivered on December 16, 2022, the governor stressed that the region experienced a full-scale “pivot to the East” in 2022 and the seaports became a point of attraction for cargo from the Asia-Pacific countries. Investments in the creation of new container terminals will amount to more than 170 billion rubles, according to the press service of the government of Primorsky region.

“Investors are developing projects for new container terminals in Vladivostok, Bolshoy Kamen, Posyet, Slavyanka with an investment of over 170 billion rubles. In addition, agreements were signed on the creation of six transport and logistics centers by 2028, which operate in a single technological process with seaports, with a total capacity of up to 6 million containers per year,” the governor said.

The Vladivostok Commercial Sea Port is creating the Eastern transport and logistics hub, which provides for the construction of two deep-water berths with depths of up to 17 meters and a container terminal for up to 1.2 million containers.

The head of the region began his investment message by summing up the economic results of the region for 2022. The Governor noted that the region remains resilient and continues to develop in the face of sanctions, adapting to changing circumstances. Gross regional product this year will be about 1.5 trillion rubles.

At the end of 2022, the economy of Primorye showed significant growth: turnover in the transport industry increased by 36%, the volume of housing commissioned increased by 24%, investments increased by 67%, and foreign trade turnover showed an increase of 18%.

Next year Primorye plans to continue working within the framework of the approved export strategy and expand the geography of deliveries, increase the number of exporting enterprises and create representative offices of the region in the strategic markets of China and Vietnam.

Container traffic in the ports of the Far East intensified after the departure of international shipping operators from the ports of the Russian Baltic after February 2022. According to Infranews, the container throughput of the ports of the Far Eastern Basin in November 2022 increased by 5.7% compared to the same period last year to 199.85 thousand TEU. Growth in container handling has been noted for the past four months, analysts emphasize. Growth rates in November somewhat slowed down compared to the record high (since March this year) in October (+22.5%). There is a wavy trend in turnover: further acceleration of growth rates is possible in December.

The port of Vladivostok handled 122.38 thousand TEU over the month, which is 7% more than last year. Port Vostochny increased its transshipment by 7%, up to 49.77 thousand TEU, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky – by 13%.

Source: https://portnews.ru/news/340269/

Global Ports expects the complete elimination of the queue of ships to the terminal in the Far East by the end of 2022

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December 8 2022

The practice of supplying an increased number of container trains can be extended to the beginning of 2023

The increased flow of platforms to the terminal of the Eastern Stevedoring Company (VSC, part of Global Ports) has allowed a significant increase in the export of imported containers. The average daily loading of platforms at VSK was 273 platforms in September. From December 1 to December 7 it reached 328 platforms. As a result, the waiting time for ships to moor has been significantly reduced. If the pace of the the platforms is maintained, the complete “liquidation of the raid” is expected at the end of December, Global Ports told PortNews.

At the same time, the launch of additional trains did not solve the problem of high warehouse occupancy, which is typical for all major container terminals in the Far East. Due to the increased entry of platforms, the volume of exports increased, and imports in the warehouse were replaced by export cargoes, the company explained. According to Global Ports calculations, if the pace of delivery of platforms, including empty ones, is maintained, and export by road is increased, a gradual decrease in the level of warehouse occupancy will begin in the end of December.

The company believes that the extension of the practice with an increased number of container trains to the Far East to the beginning of 2023 will additionally help the terminals of the Far East in the short term to balance cargo flows and ensure a return to a comfortable waiting time for containers to be sent by rail at a level of up to 2-3 days.

To improve the efficiency of cargo handling and increase capacity, VSK Global Ports implements short-term and long-term projects: it purchases additional equipment, redirects equipment from the North-West terminals. In addition, a long-term expansion project for the VSK has been launched.

As previously reported, due to the reorientation of cargo flows in 2022, Russian ports in the Far East faced an overload of their capacities. In particular, according to the head of the Far Eastern Customs Administration (DVTU) Yuri Ladygin, overloading the capacities of the Far Eastern ports, primarily Vladivostok and Vostochny, led to queues of up to 10 ships, waiting for unloading from 2 to 10 days and dispatch from the port – up to 10-13 days.

To resolve the problem, the Ministry of Transport of Russia, together with Russian Railways, set up a headquarters in September to organize the export of containers from the port terminals of the Far East. Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev in order to stabilize the situation with the overloading of the capacities of the ports of the Far East proposed measures such as increasing the tariffs for container transportation in the east direction in 2023 with a simultaneous decrease in tariffs in the ports of the North-West; increasing the number of container trains from the terminals of the ports of the Far Eastern Federal District to 5 units per day; extending until the end of 2023 a discount on the railway tariff for the transportation of containers in open wagons; increasing the number of container trains in the east direction by 3 pairs per day until the end of 2022.

On December 7, RZD reported that the problem had been solved.

Source: https://portnews.ru/news/339844/

The Ministry of Transport proposes to increase tariffs for container transportation in the eastern direction in 2023

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November 16 2022

In order to relieve the Far Eastern ports, it is proposed to reduce tariffs in the ports of the North-West

The loading of port terminals in the Far East remains high, the situation can be stabilized by increasing tariffs for container transportation in the east direction in 2023, while simultaneously reducing tariffs in the ports of the North-West. This was announced by the Minister of Transport of Russia Vitaly Savelyev at a meeting with the President of Russia with members of the government, according to the Telegram channel of the Russian Cabinet.

The Minister of Transport told the head of state about the situation with the export of containerized cargo through the seaports of the Far East. In October 2022, the transshipment of containers in the Far Eastern ports increased by 22% compared to October 2021, exports grew by 32%, imports – by 26%.

“Vitaly Savelyev noted that the loading of port terminals remains high. The vessels with approximately 15,000 TEUs on board are awaiting unloading,” the statement said.

To promptly resolve issues, the Ministry of Transport, together with Russian Railways, created in September a Headquarters for organizing the export of containers from port terminals in the Far East. As a result, in November, it was possible to increase imports from ports to 2.72 thousand TEU per day, which is 13% higher than the average daily indicator in September. As the head of the Ministry of Transport said, now the actual loading of 5 port container terminals is 117%, the loading of 6 rear terminals is 74%.

According to him, it is also possible to unload the port capacities in the Far East through developing road cargo transportation (its share in the total volume of transportation of imported containers from the Far East reached 9%); by increasing the number of container trains from the terminals of the Far Eastern ports up to 5 units per day; by extending a discount on the railway tariff for the transportation of containers in open wagons until the end of 2023; and by increasing the number of container trains eastbound by 3 pairs per day until the end of 2022.

“These measures will help stabilize the situation in the seaports of the Far East by transporting an additional 45,000 TEUs with imported cargo,” Vitaly Savelyev is quoted on the website of the Ministry of Transport.

Source: https://portnews.ru/news/338698/

FESCO sent containers from St. Petersburg via the Northern Sea Route

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October 11 2022

The FESCO Transport Group (“FESCO”, the “Group”) shipped the first batch of loaded containers along the route St. Petersburg – Vostochny Port – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky via the Northern Sea Route.

On October 9, 89 FESCO 40-foot containers, including those with export cargo from the largest Russian petrochemical and timber companies, departed on the Sevmorput nuclear lighter carrier from the port of St. Petersburg. The planned travel time to the Vostochny port will be 21 days, then to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky – another 4 days.
Some of the containers as part of the FESCO complex transportation will be reloaded at the port of Vostochny and will further be sent to the countries of Southeast Asia using the Group’s maritime service. Transportation along the Northern Sea Route gives FESCO clients an opportunity to diversify their export logistics flows.

Source: https://www.fesco.ru/ru/press-center/news/fesco-otpravila-konteynery-iz-sankt-peterburga-po-sevmorputi/

Containers have risen in price extremely

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February 14 2022

The sharp rise in the value of assets in multimodal logistics over the past year – containers, flatcars, ships and port equipment – is forcing a number of industry participants to reduce investments. Other players note that borrowings have doubled in price, which increases the cost of maintaining equipment purchased on lease or on credit. Analysts state that the market is close to overheating.

The market expert told to “Kommersant” that in linear logistics, containers have risen in price 1.8 times, up to $6.7 thousand for a forty-foot container, rail platforms – by 27%, up to 3.7 million rubles for an 80-foot platform, container ships – more than four times. At the same time, he noted, only platforms are actually available in Russia, all other assets are bought abroad. “In terminal and port logistics, asset prices have grown by about 20-30% of their actual value,” he sayd. “All this hinders development, leads to higher rates for logistics services. For our part, we are not ready to buy ports and terminals at such high prices.”

All the market participants interviewed by “Kommersant” observe the increase in price, however, some argue with the thesis about the protective effect of increased prices. “Indeed, the value of assets – ships, railway platforms, containers – is increasing at a double-digit pace, which hinders the development of the logistics market in Russia and ultimately leads to an increase in rates for logistics services,” sayd Maxim Shishkov, “FESCO” Strategy and Development Director.

“The situation with assets last year was tense, and it remains so,” noted Vyacheslav Saraev, General Director of “RZhD Business Active”. In general, we have a large program to increase our assets to ensure obligations to customers, we plan to purchase up to 10,000 containers and about 1,000 platforms this year. We count on already concluded long-term contracts of three or more years with a fixed rate. Of course, we have to start a dialogue with contractors, given the price dynamics in the market.” The increase in the Central Bank’s rate also has a negative impact, added Mr. Saraev.

“Delo Group” noted that it is necessary to separate the global and local equipment markets. Thus, the container market is global, about 40% of the increase in the price of equipment is due to the price of metal, and everything else is a speculative factor associated with the high demand for containers amid the disruption of global supply chains due to the pandemic.

Port equipment, as a rule, is ordered under long-term contracts, and the speculative factor does not play a significant role, since the implementation period for infrastructure projects is years, not months. According to a representative of “Delo Group”, market participants are facing interruptions in the supply of certain types of equipment, for example, reachstackers (mobile loaders for containers), but they were associated with a global shortage of chips common to the entire mechanical engineering industry.

At the same time, the platform market is local, and all 20% of the growth accounts for the growth in the cost of the metal. One of “Kommersant”’s interlocutors on the market says that a twofold increase in the refinancing rate is a more important factor for the market than a speculative markup, which sharply increases the cost of leasing for operators that do not have their own rolling stock.

There is a feeling that in 2022, after large-scale purchases of the previous year, the market may overheat, said Mikhail Burmistrov, head of “Infoline-Analytics”. There are no prerequisites for logistics equipment to become cheaper, prices, on the contrary, tend to increase, while return on assets has slowed down. According to him, the actual rise in prices is not so fundamental, since it is offset by a steady increase in demand due to an increase in container traffic, especially transit.

A more important problem, Mr. Burmistrov agreed, is the rising cost of borrowing, which makes buying equipment on lease or on credit less attractive. In March 2021, the key rate of the Central Bank of Russia was 4.25%, now it is 9.5%, he recalls, and the growing level of interest rates on leasing and loans is putting pressure on companies’ expenses. On February 11, the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, did not rule out the possibility of raising the key rate to a two-digit level this year.

Source: https://portnews.ru/digest/23004/ 