China-EU Cargo Train Services: 700 China-Europe freight trains to depart Xinjiang in 2017

A total of 700 China-Europe freight trains are expected to depart from Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, by the end of 2017, the regional logistic center said Thursday, October 19.

Over 500 China-Europe freight trains have already headed westwards from the city this year, far more than the total number last year.

Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, is a transport hub for China-Europe freight train routes.

With trade volume increasing between China and European countries in recent years, Urumqi has started to offer "point-to-point" customized services to cut transport costs and time.

The one-stop service integrates customs clearing, inspection and quarantine, train transportation, and freight logistics.

By October, more than 5,000 cargo train trips have been made between Chinese and European cities since the start of the direct rail freight services six years ago, according to China Railway Corporation.

Read more: 700 China-Europe freight trains to depart Xinjiang in 2017[1]- Chinadaily.com.cn

Shipping - Canada: Bump in container shipping a boon to Canada - by Jacqueline Nelson

The world’s largest shipping company is seeing signs of stronger global container traffic, something already reflected in activity at several Canadian ports where trading volumes have been on the rise.

Recently, Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk AS said its second-quarter profit nearly tripled from a year earlier to $2.3-billion (U.S.), helped in part by a particularly strong 6.6-per-cent increase in shipping volumes in its container business unit Maersk Line. The company also raised its full-year profit forecast.

“Asia, Europe [region] is up by around 9 per cent, which is much above what you would expect given the economic development,” Nils Andersen, chief executive of Maersk, said on a conference call with analysts.

The company has forecast global container demand to grow by 4 to 5 per cent in 2014.
Other major shipping companies such as Hong Kong’s Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) and Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd AG have also posted increases in container shipping volumes in recent financial reports.

Global trade is conducted largely at sea. About 80 per cent of internationally-traded goods are sent by ship at some point in their journey, according to The Baltic Exchange, which tracks the maritime market.

And Canada is getting a piece of the action. Trade volume moving in and out of Canada by water is expected to double in 15 to 20 years, according to the Association of Canadian Port Authorities (ACPA). This will be a boon for both shipping companies and the ports that service them.

Canada’s National Ports System has 18 major port authorities involved in shipping of 310 million tonnes of goods each year. These items include imported electronics and clothing, and exported natural resources, such as lumber, and are valued at more than $162-billion (Canadian) per year.

Read more: Bump in container shipping a boon to Canada - The Globe and Mail

Hungarian role seen in China-Europe freight - by Daniel Hirsch

Prospects for economic growth through multiple methods of transport in countries in the so-called “Mediterranean Corridor/Corridor V” were examined in a conference in Budapest this month, with Hungary said to be well-placed to play an important role as a bridge between Western, Eastern and Southern Europe.

The conference, organised by the Hungarian-Italian Chamber of Commerce, focused on “Pan-European inter-modal corridors as opportunities for regional development from an anti-crisis perspective”. Speakers included Daniel Wieland, senior vice-president rail logistics and forwarding at DB Schenker, chamber president Maurizio Sauli, Italian ambassador to Hungary Maria Assunta and the Hungarian state secretary at the National Development Ministry, János Fónagy.

Wieland addressed economic opportunities and perspectives presented by the use of the two rail routes from China to Europe, the “northern” and “southern” routes, with reference to the additional logistics offerings from DB Schenker. “We link the strongly growing provinces around major cities such as Chongqing with Europe by rail,” Wieland said.

The 12,000-kilometre northern route leads from Shanghai via Russia, Belarus and Poland, while the 10,000-kilometre southern route leads from Chongqing via Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland.

With growing distances into the Chinese hinterland, rail-based transport from there directly to Europe can generate economic advantages and ideally complement the possibilities of air freight and sea freight,” Wieland said. “By rail the transport time is up to 16 days quicker than by sea, while there is a cost saving of up to 75 per cent compared to air freight.”

Read more: Hungarian role seen in China-Europe freight | The Budapest Times