Freight forwarders who organise the shipment of goods — have reported a sharp increase in enquiries and bookings for rail freight to Europe via Russia. Rail is attractive to shippers as it is cheaper than air freight and quicker than using ocean shipping.
The rail freight journey takes between 14 and 25 days depending on its origin and destination, a transit time that is “significantly better” than ocean shipping times.
Ocean shipping from China to the Dutch port of Rotterdam via the Red Sea takes around 27 days, but re-routing via South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope adds about 10-12 days.