In the first eight months of 2026, about 80% of containers moved westward and only 20% in the opposite direction. Operators are looking for cargo in Europe and Türkiye that can be shipped back across the Caspian Sea and Kazakhstan to Central Asia and China.
In January—August, 53,574 TEU were transported along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor, compared with 48,326 TEU a year earlier. Traffic increased by 11%. According to ADY Express, 42,642 TEU moved from east to west, while only 10,932 TEU traveled in the opposite direction, a ratio of almost four to one.
Interest in the route increased sharply after 2022, when companies began looking for ways to transport goods between China and Europe without transiting Russia. Corridor participants increased shipments from China, launched new rail services, and invested in railways, terminals, and Caspian ports. Chinese freight volumes have grown, but there is still insufficient cargo for the return journey.
For operators, the issue is financial. Once containers reach Europe, they need to be reused or repositioned. With return cargo, equipment generates revenue in both directions. Without it, operators have to bear the cost of moving empty containers. At the same time, the 80%-to-20% split does not show how many containers actually return empty.
«Backhaul freight is necessary for this,» said Emil Mammadov, Adviser to the Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways, at the Black Sea and Caspian Freight Forum 2026 in Baku. According to him, attracting cargo from Europe would increase freight volumes and optimize transportation costs.
Until now, the route has been promoted more actively in China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye, while European companies have received less attention. Operators are now looking for customers at the western end of the corridor as well.
A shipment from Türkiye provided an example of such a return journey. In May, KTZ Express and Pasifik Eurasia sent a train from Izmir to China carrying household refrigerators. Fifty 40-foot containers crossed the Caspian Sea, traveled through Kazakhstan, and reached China via the Altynkol border station.
For now, such shipments remain limited. On September 9, Azerbaijan Railways held talks with Shanghai International Port Group and Lianyungang Port on expanding shipments of Chinese goods through Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan, toward Europe.
According to ADY Express, 265 container block trains operated along the Middle Corridor in January—August 2026. However, this figure does not show how fully the trains were loaded or how much equipment returned empty.
Kazakhstan occupies a central position along the route. Cargo from China travels by rail through the country to Aktau or Kuryk, then crosses the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan. From there, it continues through Georgia toward Türkiye or the Black Sea ports.
Kazakhstan is investing heavily in railways and Caspian ports. In February, the World Bank approved an $846 million guarantee intended to mobilize $1.41 billion in financing for a railway project along the Middle Corridor. According to the bank, the project could help triple freight volumes and halve transit times by 2030.
Mammadov identified automotive products as potential eastbound cargo. He said attracting European shippers would depend on the transit times and service standards the corridor can offer.
