Expanded Russian Customs Checks Disrupt China-Europe Rail Logistics
By Zou Xiaotong and Denise Jia
Russian authorities have in recent months been stopping containers bound for Europe via the China-Europe Railway Express, increasing costs for logistics companies and causing delays.
This is as a result of Russian Directive No. 1374, which was issued on Oct.15, 2024. According to the Russian government, the directive expands the list of banned transit goods outlined in a 2022 directive, adding items such as machinery, electronics and camouflage clothing, primarily targeting goods used for both civilian and military purposes.
“This directive gives Russian customs significant authority to detain goods they suspect might have military or dual-use applications. Inspections can occur at any station, meaning goods that clear the border may still face delays or detention deeper into Russian territory,” said Yang Jie, head of Eurasian Railway International Freight Forwarding (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., on social media.
Industry insiders told Caixin some goods remain stuck in Russia. Liu Zan, general manager of Bangdatong Logistics (Hunan) Co. Ltd., said the container of one client who had shipped clothing for Christmas was still being held. About 70 containers have been affected so far, Liu added.
Even containers already in transit have been stopped. Logistics experts said Russian customs began detaining shipments in late October and early November 2024. Liu and Fan Lingzhi, a client manager at Chongqing Sino-Euro International Logistics Co. Ltd., said containers under codes starting with 84, mostly machinery and electrical components, were stopped most frequently.
Containers sharing a railcar with restricted items were also affected. Logistics professionals explained that when Russian customs detain a container for inspection, the entire railcar may be held, even if other containers don’t carry restricted goods.
When the China-Europe Railway Express enters Russia from China there is a change in rail gauge — from China’s standard gauge of 1.435 meters to Russia’s broader gauge of 1.52 meters. This means containers have to be transferred to a different railcar. Typically, in China, a single 40-foot container is loaded on to one railcar. In Russia, due to the broader gauge and different railcar configurations, two 40-foot containers are often loaded on to a single railcar. If one of the containers needs to be checked, the second container is also detained. This is what happened to the Christmas clothing shipment, Liu said.
Liu noted that while occasional detentions by Russia occurred in the past, the current scale is unprecedented. Another logistics professional estimated that nearly 100 containers from their company had been detained, with more than 1,000 containers affected overall.
Once a container has been stopped for checks, Chinese freight forwarders must provide technical documentation, which is passed through foreign agents to Russian customs. Customs then inspects the shipment, which might be returned, confiscated or allowed to continue under a guarantee proving the goods are for civilian use, Liu said.
Progress is slow due to communication delays and because of the number of parties in the supply chain. As of Jan. 24, most goods remain held at various stages: either awaiting classification, awaiting inspection, undergoing inspection or requiring additional technical documentation, Liu said.
The situation has caused a backlog of containers, with Smolensk — a key transit hub near Russia’s border with Belarus — reportedly the most congested. Lying only 400 kilometers from Moscow, Smolensk has long been a gateway for trade with Europe. Yang predicted that the share of China-Europe Railway Express traffic destined for Europe would drop from between 25% and 30% to around 10% due to the hold-ups.
The impact is visible in the decline of train operations. In November 2024, the China-Europe Railway Express ran 1,529 trains, down 2% from the previous year, according to official data.
The number of containers shipped also fell. November shipments totaled 165,400 20-foot containers, down 3.2% year-on-year and 4.1% month-on-month. This came after double-digit growth in train departures and container shipments in October.
To avoid further delays, Liu’s company has rerouted many containers. bypassing Russia. Some had to be sent via sea routes or rerouted through the southern corridor, Liu said. This alternative route, which avoids Russia, goes through Kazakhstan, the Caspian and Black Seas, Turkey, and Europe.
The delays have increased costs for freight forward companies. Fees for detained containers range from $5,000 to more than $10,000 per container, including overstay charges, railcar detention fees, inspection labor costs and storage fees. The longer the delays, the higher the costs, Liu said.
Yang noted that some shippers are now reluctant to use the China-Europe Railway Express. Combined with the seasonal lull before the Lunar New Year, train operations to Europe have slowed, leaving border ports such as Alashankou in Xinjiang noticeably less busy, Yang said.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com)
caixinglobal.com is the English-language online news portal of Chinese financial and business news media group Caixin. Global Neighbours is authorized to reprint this article.
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