China-Europe Railway Express Sees Surging Traffic in August Despite COVID-19

Transcontinental freight operator China-Europe Railway Express posted a leap in freight levels in August despite the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August China-Europe saw a total of 1247 trips completed by its freight trains, for a YoY rise of 62% according to data released by China State Railway Group.

These trips delivered a total of 113,000 twenty-foot equivalent units in goods, for a YoY rise of 66%.

Analysts said that the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions to international supply chains and a sharp decline in import and export levels, making China-Europe’s rise highly unusual.

Data from China’s customs authority indicates that the total value of Chinese imports and exports was 20.05 trillion yuan for the first eight months of 2020. Exports totalled 11.05 trillion yuan for growth of just 0.8%.

China-Europe Railway Express is a joint venture between Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, Russia’s RZhD and China’s China State Railway Group, and operates container freight trains that run between China and Germany via the Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Siberian railways.

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