Category: Freight

State-owned grain railcars handled only 9.8% of total grain loadings in April, underscoring reliance on private operators. Roughly 3,500 grain shipments were completed in April, with May volumes to be allocated via Prozorro.Sale auctions. Four long-term grain rail contracts are in advanced stages, with execution expected from April–May, potentially lifting state rail market share. Current…

Strong grain exports: Russian grain transshipment surged 39.4% year-on-year in Q1 2026 to 13.1 million tonnes, underscoring robust export demand and improved port efficiency. Mixed cargo performance: Mineral fertilizer volumes fell 3.8% and bulk food cargo dropped 4.1%, partially offsetting gains from grain within overall port activity. Muted overall growth: Total cargo turnover at Russian…

Tax Hike: Malaysia will raise its crude palm oil export tax to the maximum 10% in May, up from 9.5% in April. Price Surge: The crude palm oil reference price jumps 14.9% month-on-month to 4,522 ringgit/tonne from 3,935 ringgit/tonne. Tight Markets: Maximum tax threshold is triggered as prices exceed 4,050 ringgit/tonne, signaling tighter global vegetable…

Policy support: Kazakhstan plans partial compensation for farmer grain transport costs to ease financial pressure and support exports. Stronger volumes: Q1 2026 rail grain freight rose 15.4% YoY to 4.1 million tons, with exports up 17.5% to 3.3 million tons. Freight upside: Subsidized transport could boost rail flows and enhance Kazakh grain competitiveness in regional…

Policy Shift: Russia introduced an additional tariff quota for grain exports outside the Eurasian Economic Union for the 2025/26 marketing year. Supply Outlook: Rosstat revised the 2025 grain harvest up to 141.2 million tonnes, signaling ample domestic supply and export potential. Base Quota Intact: The main 20 million tonne export quota remains in place from…

Capacity Surge: Rail freight on the Xi’an-Baku route via Kazakhstan rose 2.5x year-on-year in Q1 2026, with 85 trains versus 34 in Q1 2025. Faster Transit: Average delivery time on the corridor improved 25%, dropping from 20 days to 15 days. Logistics Impact: Neutral to slightly bullish for Black Sea logistics, adding an alternative corridor…

Flows Easing: Early April Ukrainian agricultural road exports averaged 9.2 thousand tons per day, slipping from more stable March levels. Route Concentration: Polish and Romanian corridors dominate shipments, handling the bulk of daily volumes despite rising volatility. Volatility Up: Daily exports peaked at 10-11 thousand tons mid-period before falling to 7.5-8 thousand tons, signaling less…

Bullish for Indonesian palm oil exports: February shipments rose 17% year-on-year to 2.69 million tonnes, with October–February volumes up 19% to 12.23 million tonnes. Bearish for Black Sea vegetable oils: Strong Indonesian supply and competitive pricing are crowding out sunflower oil in key markets like China and the EU, potentially pressuring Black Sea freight and margins. China…

Daily grain railcar unloading at Greater Odessa ports edged up to 1,260 units (+20 w/w), signaling slightly improved port-side efficiency. The rail pipeline to Greater Odessa ports dropped sharply by 1,337 units to 8,219 railcars, pointing to potential tightening of near-term export capacity. Average daily loading onto the network fell to 1,097 railcars (‑153 w/w),…

Neutral: February canola exports rose 24% year-on-year to 808,000 tonnes, but cumulative 2025/26 shipments remain 28% below last season. Bullish: Record Canadian soybean exports of 4.49 million tonnes for August–February, driven by strong Chinese demand, underline robust global oilseed consumption. Bearish: Lower year-to-date Canadian canola exports open space for competing origins such as Black Sea…