The cost of container shipping across the Caspian Sea rose in September compared with August, the Argus price assessment agency reported.
According to the report, rates have been rising since the beginning of the year amid concerns about possible disruptions to container shipping by sea from China to Europe due to the unstable situation in the Middle East.
The increase in fuel prices has also contributed to higher container shipping costs. According to analysis by Argus, the sharp rise in bunker fuel prices in the Caspian and Black seas faced by container carriers has led to higher freight rates.
The analysis also said that growing competition from alternative routes for shipping containers from China, including the Northern Sea Route, is limiting a sharper increase in container shipping rates across the Caspian Sea.
In September, the cost of shipping a 40-foot high-cube container (40HC) from Xi’an to Alat/Absheron (Baku) rose to $6,750–$7,200, from $6,700–$7,100 a month earlier. Freight forwarders said shipping container cargo through smaller operators could cost another 5%–10% more. Some carriers in September estimated the cost of delivering containers from Xi’an to Absheron at $6,800–$7,300 per 40HC.
According to carriers, rates for shipping containers from Xi’an to terminals in Tbilisi and Poti remained unchanged in September at $6,900–$7,200 per 40HC. Carriers also said the transit time for container trains along the Xi’an–Altynkol–Aktau–Alat–Absheron route averaged 14–19 days in September, unchanged from the previous month.
In September, the cost of shipping containers from Xi’an to the Turkish ports of Ambarli and Mersin in transit via Absheron/Alat rose to $7,200–$8,000 per 40HC, from $7,200–$7,900 a month earlier.
According to freight forwarders, the number of empty containers sitting in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan remained largely unchanged from August at 3,500–3,700 units at the end of September.
