Ways to solve the imbalance of rolling stock on the Russian Railways network in container traffic
Abstract
Сontainer transportation is in high demand from manufacturers of container-ready goods and freight forwarders in modern conditions. This is primarily due to the fact that potential shippers have clear information about the frequency of container transportation in their chosen direction, as well as the cost of transportation for the coming weeks and even months. This information allows them to plan the production volume of goods that will be transported to the destination region. The article provides an assessment of the volume of container traffic for the 12 months of 2023 and 2024, reveals the causes of the imbalance between supply and demand for fitting platforms and containers at certain intervals on the Russian railway network, and presents the dynamics of changes in global trends of incoming and outgoing global container flows from 2018 to 2025. In conclusion, based on the specifics of container train formation over 6,000 km, the article offers recommendations for adapting to global trends in the flow of loaded and empty containers in order to minimize possible downtime of fitting platforms and containers due to the imbalance of rolling stock in the container transportation market.
About the Author
D. V. UshakovRussian Federation
Ushakov D.V. - Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Logistics and management of transport systems RUT (MIIT)
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Review
For citations:
Ushakov D.V. Ways to solve the imbalance of rolling stock on the Russian Railways network in container traffic. Logistics and Supply Chain Management. 2025;22(3):29-37. (In Russ.)