Russia Faced With Container Problem Due to Huge Increase in Trade From China

Russia has amassed over 150,000 surplus shipping containers due to the large increase in goods coming from China but a much lower number leaving the country, an analysis from German trading platform Container xChange found. The excess containers are causing headaches for Russian rail depots.

Container xChange CEO Christian Roeloffs said the discrepancy is "tremendously detrimental" to container business and logistics. The average price for a 40-foot "high cube" container in Russia plunged to $580, down from $4,175 in February 2022.

Chinese exports to Russia jumped by 73%, to $62.54 billion, whereas Russian exports to China dropped 15%, to $71.6 billion.