Russian Freight Transport Market in the Context of Sanctions

Abstract

As the sanctions against Russia were imposed in 2022, Russia’s trade in goods decreased significantly during the first months. As a result, the price of domestic freight began to rise. Therefore, businesses had to revive transport demand and establish new import routes. The research aims to determine new directions in the development of Russian goods transportation through changes in the structure of international trade. To reach this goal, the market of rail and road cargo, as well as the throughput of Russia’s ports, was analyzed. Due to restrictions on the European side, more attention is now given to the East. Freight traffic is shifted to the southeast of Russia, where the largest railway lines (the Baikal-Amur Mainline [BAM] and the Trans-Siberian railway) are located. For the further development of the eastern direction of Russian railways, the main issue is a lack of gondolas for coal export and containers; most of them are bought in China. The research revealed that Russian production could partially meet domestic demand for at least 20-foot containers. The author concludes that a limitation of coal, oil, and gas in the export structure will help freight forwarding companies earn more in the future. The research analyzes options for reformatting freight railway infrastructure for more efficient transportation and reducing the transportation of fossil energy resources. The author concludes that Russian Railways tries to replace or slightly limit the movement of trains with coal and oil while increasing the flow of containers. Government agencies can use the research results to make recommendations for changing foreign trade strategies and domestic transportation. A further direction in the research development is to assess the possibility of restructuring Russian exports to increase the share of goods in containers and eliminate the dependence on coal.