Logistics Market Update: September 2025

2025-09-08 18:00 Market Update

So, September 1 has arrived — the Day of Knowledge. And what is knowledge? That’s right! Knowledge is power!

We congratulate all teachers, students, and their parents on this occasion — especially those interested in logistics — and present to you our September news digest.

The main highlight: as of September 1, Federal Law No. 140-FZ has come into force, introducing significant amendments to Law No. 87-FZ "On Freight Forwarding Activities." If you haven’t yet familiarized yourself with it, we strongly recommend doing so. Except for provisions with different effective dates, starting September 1, freight forwarders are required to comply with legal obligations when transporting goods that are restricted or withdrawn from circulation. They must not begin fulfilling a contract until the client provides complete and accurate information about the cargo and its transportation conditions, must inspect cargo for prohibited substances and items in accordance with the law, and must promptly notify law enforcement if the client lacks the necessary government permits for transporting restricted goods, and so on.

The FESCO Transport Group has announced the development of its own flexitank model for transporting non-hazardous liquid cargo in 40-foot containers. The liquid volume can reach up to 28,000 liters, and the Local Technical Conditions (LTC) for securing the flexitank in the container have been approved by Russian Railways (RZD).

By the way, Rosatom (which oversees FESCO) proudly shared that their employee, Marina Starovoitova, has become the world’s first female captain of a nuclear icebreaker. And that’s exactly how it should be! We truly need nuclear icebreakers and experienced captains. It is expected that this year’s Northern Sea Route (NSR) navigation will continue until October 2025, with about 70 transit voyages escorted by 19 icebreakers. According to Ke Jing, a representative of Torgmoll in Russia, Chinese company NewNew Shipping Line leads container transport along the NSR, handling over 20,000 TEU in 2024.

And now — on to the update!

Direct sea service from South East Asia

WELLGO Transportation Update this month begins with Ocean Freight news. Options for September remain stable, those being the Suez Canal (with transshipment and without container handling) and the Northern Sea Route. The latest voyages from China via the NSR are planned for September, after which navigation for commercial vessels will cease until next summer. This year 20 voyages via the NSR have been planned, which is almost twice as many as in 2024.

Freight rates are updated on a weekly basis. Some carriers ( M - Line ) issued a notice on the introduction of GRI from September 1. This measure is primarily due to carriers expecting an increase in cargo from China in the near future. However, this growth is limited by news of the 19th package of EU sanctions against the Russian Federation.

Tariffs at the beginning of September show a 5% drop compared to the beginning of August.
Tariffs for transportation via the NSR remain more attractive, showing a difference of USD 400 (for 40 HC) compared to average tariffs via the Suez Canal.
Equipment in stock.
The schedule is stable, transit times are met.
Overbooking for export from the Port of St. Petersburg remains, the next available bookings are accepted for ships departing in November/December.
WELLGO advises that, in September, it is necessary to monitor tariff levels and schedule changes more often against the background of notices about the introduction of GRI .

WELLGO advises that, in September, it is necessary to monitor tariff levels and schedule changes more often against the background of notices about the introduction of GRI.

News:

Chinese company VUXX Shipping has been partially subjected to US sanctions, i.e. restrictions have been imposed on specific vessels entering certain ports. The situation needs to be monitored, along with selecting sea services without transshipments on the cargo routes.
FESCO Transport Group continues to develop container transportation service between Russia and the Republic of South Africa. The name of the new service is FESCO South Africa Line (FSAL). Frequency of shipments is twice per month with a declared transit time of 35-37 days. From Russia such goods as timber, grain, equipment, spare parts are the most popular. In return Russia receives juices, nuts, and South African wine.

Direct rail service from South East Asia

Operators continue to offer fixed tariffs only for each individual container train (CT). The Chinese side continues to reduce agreed plans - fewer trains means fewer seats, and so early booking of seats is required. However, there is a tendency to agree on additional plans when the required container volume is reached (at least 50 40- foot containers per CT). Operators are then ready to lay on additional trains. Attractive prices can be obtained for such CTs, since operators continue to experience a shortage of cargo.

The current tariff level remains at early August levels and varies from USD 3,900 to USD 4,500 (station-to-station) depending on the departure station in China.
It is necessary to check the fares for each specific train.
On August 2, there were interruptions in the southern region of China with empty containers. The situation has now normalized, and containers are available.
There are no delays for trains leaving China.
The stations in the Moscow railway hub are receiving cargo normally.

There are no delays at border crossings, crossing times are:
• Zabaikalsk: 5 - 7 days
• Alashankou: 3-5 days
• Erlian: 5-7 days

News:

Russian Railways and China will increase the number of freight trains through the largest border crossing point of Zabaikalsk by 5-10%.
2026 will see a large-scale logistics dry port, in the border city of Suifenhe. This will become a key link in trade between China, Russia and Eastern European countries. Railway routes have started through the border crossing Suifenhe - Border. So far this option looks somewhat unpredictable in terms of the speed of processing the CP, but offers the lowest rates for attracting cargo.

Multimodal transportation via the Far East

WELLGO notes that there is still no significant growth in cargo traffic on this service. In this regard, tariffs remain at a relatively low level. Given the large number of sea carriers interested in constant cargo traffic, fleet rotations continue across Southeast Asian countries to increase fleet occupancy. In some places this leads to an increase in transit times.

Tariffs for the first half of September remain at August levels. There is a possibility of growth in the second half of the month, depending on the increase in the number of goods on the market
There is no shortage of equipment
In terms of availability, there continues to be spot overbooking on some lines, but overall there is no shortage
Globally there are no rolls , delays and raids
Registration on the railway to Moscow takes 5-7 days, for the regions 10-14 days
The stations of the Moscow railway hub are receiving normally

News:

FESCO has transferred container delivery from Japan to the Far East to a weekly basis. Transportation is carried out via the only regular sea container line between the countries – Japan Trans-Siberian Line (JTSL).

Marine services to other regions

Türkiye

Import tariffs remain low, on some lines FIFO tariffs are: USD 100 / 20 DC and USD 200 / 40 HC
There are no problems with the equipment
Delays in the schedule or rollings.
Carriers continue to report cargo shortages, which impacts tariffs

United Arab Emirates

In September, tariffs are expected to increase by an average of USD 250 per container.
There is no shortage of equipment.
Jebel Ali Port oversupply of 20 DC Containers has been reported. rates for transportation by this type of container are currently attractive.
There are no rotations or raids.
Overbooking remains in the export direction from Russia.

India

In September, tariffs are expected to increase by an average of USD 250 per container.
There is no shortage of equipment.
There are no rotations or raids, all services operate normally.
Overbooking is still present on the export route from St. Petersburg to India. New bookings are being accepted for October/November.

China

The peak holiday season in China, as in Russia, has come to an end. The majority of tourists have returned from their holidays, which has created an additional burden on passenger airlines, as seen at the end of August. This also affected the number of available slots for commercial cargo transportation, causing an increase in prices by an average of 0.5 USD / kg. Many shipments faced expected departure date postponements. Currently, the cost of air freight from China is approximately 2.7-3.3 USD/kg.

In September, WELLGO expects that the growth of tariffs, although not large, will continue due to two main reasons: some passenger airlines have made adjustments to their schedules - they have reduced their frequency due to a decline in passenger flow, and the market, contrarily, is gradually reviving so the demand for air freight is starting to grow.

Türkiye

Air transportation from Turkey to Russia is still one of the most attractive in terms of tariffs. Istanbul and Antalya airports continue to receive numerous flights from different airlines carrying Russian tourists. This creates a sufficient number of carrying capacities for commercial transportation.
The cost of air freight from Turkey is now 1.15-2 USD/kg. Russian passenger airlines operate direct flights from Antalya. From Istanbul, there are also options for direct flights, but with restrictions due to smaller aircraft. For large consignments of cargo departing from Istanbul, good regular transit flights can be used.

United Arab Emirates

WELLGO report that there are no changes on the Dubai-Moscow route. Although there is a tourism traffic, it is not large compared to the season, so passenger companies cope with flights of narrow-body aircraft. Some airlines have reduced the frequency or cancelled flights for the summer.

However, smaller consignments of cargo can still be transported by Russian Airline regular direct passenger flights. Larger consignments of cargo continue to be transported by a charter program with departures twice a week. The cost of sending cargo on such flights is 4-4.5 USD/kg. For cargo that does not fall under the restrictions, various options from Middle Eastern airlines are also available: EK (Emirates), EY (Etihad), TK (Turkish Airlines) and more

India

Currently, flights from Russia to India and back are operated only by domestic airlines, i.e. Aeroflot (Delhi) and Volga-Dnepr (Mumbai). Given that Aeroflot, with reliable frequency, operates flights on narrow-body aircraft, and Volga-Dnepr operates a single weekly flight, these two options are not enough to ensure cargo flow between the countries.

Alternative options are transit flights of Vietnam Airlines Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines. WELLGO draws our readers’ attention to these airlines having different restrictions on the strictness of booking cargo flying to Russia.
Therefore, it is necessary to check the possibility of flying with airlines in advance. Please contact us for more details in the first instance.

Depending on the option chosen, the cost of air freight from India is approximately in the range of 3.2-4.5 USD/kg.

China

In August, the cost of road transport in transit through Kazakhstan decreased.

The average cost on the route Shanghai – Kazakhstan – Moscow is 8000 USD /tent, Shanghai – Manzhouli – Moscow – 9500 USD /tent.

There are still problems with electronic booking for border warehouse entry at the border between China and Kazakhstan, but much less so. Carriers have adapted and are ordering passes in advance. In August, free slots were given for cars that were booked but not used (earlier, these bookings "burned out"), due to which a large number of free cars were formed, which significantly reduced the prices for transportation from China through Kazakhstan.

At the moment, the terms for ordering a slot for entry at the main crossings are:

Bakhty/Tacheng: free booking available in 1–1.5 weeks, paid booking available the next day.
Alashankou/Dostyk: no free slots for 3-4 weeks in advance, paid reservation after 2 days
Zimunai/Maikapchigai: no queue, Sunday is a day off
Khorgos/Nur Zholy: no free slots for 3-4 weeks in advance, paid after 3 days

Checks at the border have become more frequent. Goods that previously passed through Kazakhstan without hindrance are now being inspected and sent for examination (toys, fabrics). The queue waiting for inspection can stretch up to 3 weeks.

There is also an increase in the presence of Chinese carriers ready to carry out direct delivery by vehicles both to Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.

The main crossing between Russia and China is Manchuria/Zabaikalsk. Reservation for the entry queue is 2 weeks. Border crossing is 1-2 days. The advantage of this crossing is the unimpeded transit of goods of the 84th group of goods, Clothing.

Europe

The cost of transportation in tarpaulin semi-trailers is stable; prices do not change over the course of months.
Germany – Moscow 4000 EUR/tent.

The cost of transporting cargo requiring temperature control is on average 1000 EUR/vehicle more expensive than cargo without a temperature control. The demand for refrigerated semi-trailers is always higher.
Currently there are no queues to leave the EU ; the average time to cross the border is 1 day.

Leading European ports: Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hamburg were heavily overloaded in August due to increased cargo flows from Asia. There is a shortage of empty equipment, dry and refrigerated containers.

According to operators, the loading indicators are already close to critical:

Antwerp (PSA) - 65-92%, refrigerated trucks are loaded at 45-65%.
Rotterdam: ECT - 75%, RWG - 85%, APMT MVII - 95%.
Hamburg: CTA - 75-80%, CTH - 85-90%.
Bremerhaven (NTB) - 80–85%.
Southampton (UK) - 90–95%, refrigerated 60–65%.
London Gateway - 50-55%, refrigerated 35-40%.

Such high utilisation rates result in delays, increased storage costs and reduced terminal turnover .

The situation could be further aggravated in the coming months by rail restrictions in Germany, with parts of the tracks in the port of Hamburg being completely closed for repairs in August and October.

Experts predict that the congestion will continue until at least the end of September, as demand for imports from Asia remains high. The seasonal peak only increases the load, creating the effect of cargo accumulation in terminals.

In turn, global maritime operators ( MSC , Maersk , Hapag - Lloyd ) are now rotating their fleets to optimize the balance of container equipment on their regular routes. WELLGO notes an effort to develop Scandinavian ports business.