DACHSER organized its first westbound block train from China to Germany

Rail service market updates | December 2021

According to statistics, the number of freight trains running between China and Europe in 2020 has increased 15 times compared to 2015, reaching the number of more than 12,000 trains last year. In 2021, a further increase was recorded and the CRE (China Railway Express) experienced even greater demand in times of the pandemic due to a lack of sea and air freight capacity. However, the pandemic impact was also evident on Rail Service connections between China and Europe.

• Current Situation and Review 2021

As experienced during the year, the situation remains challenging. The shortage of container equipment and increased slot restrictions, comparable to the sea freight market, have also become problematic for rail service. In addition, pandemic regulations as well as weather conditions have led to backlogs at border crossings. The rates are increased, but stable.

• Outlook 2022

The situation will remain challenging until Chinese New Year, but it is expected that the slot management setup will improve thereafter. Overall, the demand on capacity will continue to grow significantly in 2022.

DACHSER offers reliable multimodal rail services with an extensive coverage, connecting economic centers of major importance in China and Europe. Via the North Corridor, the so-called Trans-Siberian Route, DACHSER connects Hamburg, Warsaw, Vienna and Bratislava with the Chinese main terminal cities like Changchun, Shenyang, and Suzhou. To and from Duisburg, Hamburg, Neuss, Ludwigshafen, Vienna, Bratislava and Warsaw, DACHSER serves the West Corridor, also known as New Silk Road, to the Chinese hinterland areas of Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing and Zhengzhou.

Not only Block Trains but also Full Container Load (FCL) service is possible on this service, as well as Less-Than-Container-Load (LCL) which includes Consolidation Container Services (LCL-LCL) and Customer Consolidations (LCL-FCL).​​​​​​​

Should you require any other departure terminals and/or destinations like the ones mentioned above or some more detailed information on Rail Services, your DACHSER contact will be glad to assist.

The will to get ahead

If Murat Kayki and his colleague Swapnali Kurale planned to meet in person, that would take time. A lot of time. More than seven hours in the air separate Nîmes in the south of France, where Kayki lives and works, from the Indian metropolis of Mumbai. They may come from different continents and different cultures, yet the two DACHSER employees have a lot in common. Both of them live and work in the city where they were born. It’s 38 years since Kayki came into the world in Nîmes as the son of Turkish immigrants. Today, he is head of DACHSER’s Nîmes and Avignon offices, and, like Kurale in Mumbai, has had quite a remarkable career.

Air freight market update | March 2021

Current Challenges in Global Air Freight

• Major airports are still facing bottlenecks in cargo handling. Airlines have to reduce freighter capacities for urgent maintenance, while the market strives for additional capacities around the globe.

Congested Airport Situation

• At world's major airports, high freight volumes are currently seen. The reason is that more and more airlines are bundling flights at hub airports. The same applies to forwarders who are increasingly consolidating their activities.
• In addition, the number of passenger freighter so called ‘PREIGHTERs’ is increasing every week. For these flights, the loading and unloading process is much more time-consuming due to the sometimes loose packaging. This affects all ground handling (trucking, on-/offloading, palletizing) processes at large airports around the globe. 

Global Capacity Situation

• The already mentioned global cargo situation and the continuing high demand for capacity have a significant impact on the yield of the major trade lanes, which is stable on a high level. Furthermore, access to capacity at adequate price levels is almost impossible.
• Necessary to allude here is that in the next few weeks a decline of freighter activities will become visible in the market, as many of the already obsolete aircrafts are in urgent need of a maintenance C or even D check. Inevitably, this will lead to less capacity in the market, higher demand and therefore higher costs.
• With the passenger freighters, the forwarders are trying to counteract this bottleneck. However, the number of available aircrafts has also reached its limits now. 

Oil Price Development

• Another important topic is the development of the oil price. In the second quarter of 2020, the oil price was at a low of 17,54 USD, in February 2021, it is at 64,17 USD. The price has almost tripled. The high oil price has a direct impact on the fuel surcharges of the commercial airlines and, for example, also on the cost structure in the charter contracts of DACHSER’s dedicated flight activities.
• The cost structure is tied to the development of the global oil price. Therefore, the development of the global oil price becomes an everyday topic. 

Read the PDF below for the current Global Capacity Situation and Oil Price Development.

In case you need any additional information related to DACHSER’S air freight services and the current market development, please do not hesitate and contact your local DACHSER contact.