You can’t argue with speed
Since 2013 DHL has steadily developed rail connections between Far East and Europe. West-east cooperation is continuing to grow in the slipstream of international politics. Thomas Kowitzki, DHL Global Forwarding’s vice-president and its ’global head of Chinarail’, presented the key rail transport developments between Europe and the Far East since 2013 to the members and guests of the Propeller Club, Port of Basel. He’s optimistic about the intermodal approach.
“My unit should actually be called Asiarail and not Chinarail,” was how Thomas Kowitzki began a talk on DHL Global Forwarding’s operations between the Far East and Europe. His portfolio, he informed his audience at the Propeller Club, Port of Basel, has already been expanding for ten years and is continuing to grow. It was improved by the recent addition of new destinations and multimodal options.
It started with China’s New Silk Road, which has been driving developments on these routes since 2013. DHL Global Forwarding joined the trend early. In the ten years since then, about 8 million teu have been transported overland between China, Central Asia, Russia and Europe. The company now also advises EU bodies on the western concept of a ‘Global Gateway’.
The ‘Wild East’ and disillusionment
The years characterised mainly by measures to combat the outbreak of Covid-19 represented an exceptional period for Chinarail too, as was the case for many other hauliers too. Problems with border-clearance processes, for example, intensified, as a part of a “stress test for the concept,” according to Kowitzki.
Booming demand ensured that every conceivable route was organised and integrated, however – from Mongolia to Turkey to Lithuania to Finland – in order to avoid bottlenecks such as Brest (Belarus). In this hectic period alone, despite all the bottlenecks, a total of 2 million teu was hauled by rail.
It rained on the parade too though. Politicians rediscovered action concerning trade. Since 2016, for example, there’s been a noticeable trend from the USA to view trade with China through a more critical lens. Sanctions on trade with Russia have been added since 2022. Kowitzki regrets this.
“Without these stipulations we could transport considerably more goods on these routes.” Despite the disadvantages, however, there are ever more trains running on these routes. East and westbound trains together are expected to increase by approximately 21% in 2023, compared to 2022.
New criteria driving traffic forward
“The main argument is speed!” said Kowitzki, underlining shippers’ current stance. There’s an increasing demand for express trains that cover the distance in twelve days. Not all of them carry only high-value goods, however. The number of consolidated containers is even increasing, compared to full containers.
Other international links are being added, as is infrastructure in Central Asia and in Azerbaijan. In times of decreasing Chinese subsidies for rail transport, however, maritime routes are also becoming interesting again. Kowitzki said that “cargo on our ‘Ocean Express’ option from China reaches Koper in 19 days.” This adds yet another – maritime – option for shippers.