After two years of decline, China-EU railfreight volumes are back on track [The Loadstar].
Westbound flows last year soaring 130% year on year, helped in part by the Red Sea crisis.
Volumes from China to Europe passed 330,700 teu, with 49,730 teu heading the other way, and while that represented the lowest score since 2017 — and a drop of 26.7% year on year — the combined China-Europe volumes were up 80.2% on 2023, according to the European Rail Alliance.
Supply chain analytics platform Upply said disruption had been one factor in the China-to-Europe increase.
Continental routes for the delivery of goods from China to Europe and back over the past decade have come a long way, from test train shipments to the creation of stable, full-fledged railway container transportation routes.
The trade relationship between China and the US has been deteriorating, a trend that began during the Trump administration and has continued under Biden. While the EU has been more cautious in its approach, its patience with China’s trade practices is wearing thin, leading to potential further strain in the trade relationship between China and the West.
