RLL Container Report - 24 December 2014
From: John Keir, Ross Learmont Ltd Email: john.keir@telia.com Date: 24 December 2014
All change! All change!
Even at this early stage, it is already clear that there will be major changes in the number and type of containers transported in Russia. First, the devaluation of the Rouble will reduce the volume of import containers. Second, prolonged sanctions will further reduce the number of 40’ HiCube import containers from the European Union and N America. Third, it is likely that the volume of traditional Russian exports will increase, resulting in a rise in the volume of 20’ containers. Fourth, more export container traffic will move on the Transiberian routes via the Far Eastern ports and from there on to the main ports in South East Asia.
Although TransContainer may reduce its overall purchases of rail platforms in 2015, the RZD intermodal subsidiary still intends to add to its fleet of 60’ rail container platforms to accommodate the projected rise in heavier exports. Most probably, the company will also increase its fleet of 20’ 30-ton rated dry cargo containers, which currently make up 44% of TransContainer’s fleet of 88,500 teu. At the same time, TransContainer will invest Rouble 200 million in upgrading its container facility at Kuntsevo. Meanwhile, TransContainer has not yet given up hope of acquiring the Slovak container operator, ZSSK Cargo Intermodal. The Slovak government was due to sell 50% of the shares in ZSSK for a price in the region of Euro 20 million.
In the first eleven months of the year, container throughput at North-Western ports continued to rise with St Petersburg terminals reporting a 7% increase to just under 200,000 teu. The neighbouring port of Ust-Luga celebrated an impressive 80% rise in traffic to register 99,100 teu. Down in the south of the country, Novorossiysk terminal operator, NMTP notched up a 6% rise in box traffic for a total of 588,600 teu during the period from January to the end of November. Cargo tonnage carried in containers rose by an impressive 14.4% to 4.98 million tons, which suggests there has been a sharp upturn in containerised exports.
After running several test shipments, EuroSib now plans to launch a regular block train service from Novosibirsk to the PIC terminal in Vladivostok. The train will be capable of hauling up to 152 teu on the 7-day journey from Siberia to the Far Eastern port. Interestingly, on its test runs, which started in October, EuroSib carried 655 teu on the outbound leg to Vladivostok and 388 teu on the inbound leg. There would already appear to be a strong demand for boxes to transport export cargoes from Siberia, as producers take advantage of the revised exchange rate.
Duisport, the container terminal at the Germany inland port of Duisburg, is projecting a healthy rise in box traffic for the current year. With one month still to go, the port has already surpassed last year’s total of 3 million by some 400,000 teu. Duisport is the largest inland terminal in Western Europe, situated in the middle of the Ruhrgebiet, the industrial heart of Germany. Lying at the confluence of the rivers Rhine and Ruhr and blessed with a complex rail network, Duisport is a short distance from the four major ports in North Europe - Antwerp, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven and Hamburg. Each week, the port of Bremerhaven receives and despatches 312 block trains, an increase of 2.4% on 2013. On Wednesday, 11Th of December, the port received its millionth unit. All three container terminals in Bremerhaven are linked to the European rail network. Between them, the Eurogate and MSC Gate terminals share 19 tracks with a total track length of 14.1 km.
Rail Cargo Logistics has launched a new freight service that will link the Greek ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki with Vienna and Central Europe. The Greco-Austrian joint-venture will invest Euro 6 million in the venture, which will commence services in the New Year. The new joint venture will soon benefit from the Othryos project, which will allow speeds of up to 160 km per hour on the main rail line in Greece. When the full upgrade is completed in 2017, the journey time between the capital and Greece’s second largest city will be cut to three and a half hours.
Each month brings evidence of the speed at which containerisation is gaining traction away from the main trade routes. The World Bank is to provide India with a loan of USD 1.1 Billion to construct the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, which will extend 1839 km from Ludhiana in Punjab to Kolkotta in West Bengal. The project will raise the axle-load limit from 22.9 to 25 tons and will, at the same, time allow speeds of up to 100 km per hour. A separate Western Dedicated Freight Corridor will connect India’s capital Delhi with the country’s commercial capital, Mumbai. This second corridor will stretch some 1483 km and will be electrified with double-line operation. The Eastern and Western freight corridors will connect at Khurja junction. India already operates double-stack container trains carrying 180 teu between Pipavav Port and Kathuwas, Rajasthan.
The Dedicated Freight Corridors will be welcomed by the Mundra International Terminal, which has just received its one millionth teu. Located in Gujurat, Mundra is ideally located for trade with the states of the Arabian Gulf and lies on the main routes to Europe and Africa. Not content with hosting the World Cup and the Olympics, Brazil is intent on keeping up with the main players in the container sector. Early in December, a preliminary environmental licence was granted for Porto Central, a green-field site located between Vitória and Rio de Janeiro. The main backers of the $1.9 billion project are Brazilian developers TPK Logística and the Port of Rotterdam. Operations are scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2015, when the port plans to receive vessels with a capacity of over 10,000 teu.
Finally, Drewry Maritime Research predicts that annual throughput at global container terminals will rise 5.6 per cent over the next five years and will reach 840 million teu by 2018.
John Keir, Ross Learmont Ltd.
24 December 2014
Copyright ©, 2014, John Keir