The volume of freight traffic in Kazakhstan by the end of 2021 by all modes of transport (excluding pipeline) amounted to 4.2 billion tons. The average growth rate for the last 5 years was 1.4% CAGR, despite the pandemic, supported by the development of e-commerce and transit potential of the country. Revenues from transportation by all modes of transport (excluding pipelines) in the Republic of Kazakhstan amounted to 1.4 trillion tenge by 2020, of which 1.1 trillion (78%) was derived from cargo transportation.
In terms of the structure of domestic freight transportation by type of transport, road transport accounts for the lion’s share (83%), including due to the rapid development of Internet trade and delivery services and growth in demand for 3PL services.
According to a survey of major e-commerce market players, the growth rate for the top 5 categories of e-commerce over the past 5 years was 84% CAGR, with marketplaces growing faster: +196% CAGR.
At the end of 2021, 23.8 million tons of cargo (an increase of 4.8% by 2020) were transported through the Republic of Kazakhstan by all modes of transport, 88% of which was the share of railway transport.
Container shipments last year reached 1,065.6 million TEU, a 22% increase over the previous year. On the route China — Europe — China 732 thousand TEU were transported, or 32% more than in 2020. Also, analysts note that more than 83% of the transit in the direction of PRC — Europe — PRC is the share of Kazakhstan. In 2021, the volume of cargo transit through the territory of Kazakhstan in the direction Asia — Europe was 2.2 million tons.
Volume of the storage services market
The volume of storage services market by the end of 2020 was about 65 billion tenge and showed a growth of 22% for 2019, after declining in 2018 and 2019 by 16% and 10% respectively. Fresh figures for 2021 have not been published yet, but the growth trend is expected to continue this year.
As of 1 April 2022, there were 18,922 registered companies operating in the Transportation and Storage sector, including 1,186 foreign-owned companies and 40 state-owned companies. The number of enterprises in the sector increased by 5.3% compared to the corresponding period last year.
