Middle Corridor Carrying Four Times More Container Cargo toward the West than towards the East, Klevtsov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Sept. 10 – During the first eight months of this year, 80 percent of container cargo moved westward from China and Central Asia and only about 20 percent of the total moved in the other direction, an imbalance transport companies are trying to reduce because of costs, Igor Klevtsov says.

            The Kazakhstan transportation analyst points out that “For transport operators, the issue comes down to finances. Once containers reach Europe, they need to be used again or repositioned. If there is cargo for the return journey, the equipment generates revenue in both directions. Without it, operators can face the cost of moving empty equipment” (timesca.com/middle-corridor-freight-eastbound-cargo/).

            “The 80 percent to 20 percent split,” Klevtsov admits, does not show with any precision “how many containers are actually making the return journey [from Asia] without cargo; but the railway companies themselves are now acknowledging the shortage of eastbound cargo” and trying to attract more going from Europe to Asia.

            Beijing not surprisingly “continues to push for more westbound traffic,” showing little concern about boosting cargo flows in the other direction. But that is unsustainable over the longer term because the costs of returning empty containers eastward are growing.

            Shipping firms based in Central Asia and Europe are seeking to boost cargo flows in the opposite direction; but as of now, they are facing an uphill battle not only because China continues to promote western flows and because European companies are not exploiting the eastward direction to the extent many had hoped.