The container data of Russian Railways in the first half of 2026 is outlining an intriguing freight map: domestic demand is slowly declining, strong imports are filling the gap, and chemicals and industrial products are quietly shouldering the banner of growth.

According to a report by Russian Railways Corporation, the cumulative volume of empty and heavy containers on the entire railway from January to May 2026 was 3.2498 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 1.9%. Among them, domestic transportation shipped 1.2 million TEUs, a decrease of 3.5% compared to the same period last year, and the domestic demand side is still adjusting. Import transportation, on the other hand, strengthened against the trend, reaching 815000 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 17.5%, becoming the core driving force behind the overall transportation volume. The export direction slightly decreased by 2.5% to 737900 TEUs.

The import is booming

The heavy box level more intuitively confirms this structural change. In the first five months, the heavy container transportation volume was 2.3 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 4%. Imported heavy containers of 727500 TEUs, an increase of 17.7%; The export of heavy containers was 701400 TEUs, a slight decrease of 1.8%. The growth rate difference of nearly 18 percentage points between imports and exports indicates that the growth engine of Russian railway freight has shifted from exports to imports, which is highly consistent with Russia's current policy direction of increasing domestic substitute imports.

The growth rate of industrial products is astonishing

From the category of goods, basic chemicals and soda ash ranked first with 363100 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 6%. The performance of industrial products is particularly outstanding, with a transportation volume of 206000 TEUs, a year-on-year surge of 27.8%, leading the growth rate among all categories. Hardware products followed closely behind, with 203700 TEUs, an increase of 16.1%. The three categories together account for nearly a quarter of the total, reflecting the accelerating tilt of Russian railway freight towards high value-added goods. Keywords: container freight, logistics

The monthly data also sends positive signals. In May 2026, Russian Railways shipped 692200 TEUs of empty and heavy containers across the entire railway line, a year-on-year increase of 9.9%, with a shipping weight of 34 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 0.6%. The monthly growth rate is significantly higher than the average of the previous five months, indicating that the release of cargo energy in the second quarter is accelerating. If this trend continues, the annual container transportation volume is expected to exceed the 8 million TEU mark.Editor/Cheng Liting