InterRail Newsflash - InterRail Holding AG

InterRail Newsflash - InterRail Holding AG

InterRail Newsflash
No. 07-08 / 2014
NEWS FROM THE INTERRAIL GROUP
3 Questions for Tufan Khalaji
China is Asia’s
most important industrial state, and
a motor for global
economic growth.
Over the past few years, the country
has put specific emphasis on developing the logistics sector. In Central
and Northwest China especially, local
governments are committed to the
development of international rail traffics and the use of the land bridge via
Kazakhstan and Russia to Europe.
For InterRail Services GmbH, (IRS),
Germany, too, the traffics from and to
China have gained importance. We
would like to take this opportunity to
ask Tufan Khalaji, Managing Director
InterRail Services GmbH (IRS), a few
questions.
1. What role does China play for
IRS?
In the course of these past years, the
InterRail Group, which IRS is a member of, has increased its commitment
in operating container block trains
between China and Europe: In this,
the Group now cooperates with partners and local governments in the
up-and-coming metropolises of the
Chinese hinterland, as well as with
the Chinese railways and their affiliates. RZD and KTZ and their daughter companies are close partners,
too. IRS contributes its experience
as long-standing operator of the two
container block trains OstWind/WestWind. The know-how thus acquired is
being used intensively for container
traffics ex China.
3. What are the future focusses of
IRS?
The marked demand for reliable
transport services that cost less than
air freight but are faster than ocean
freight motivates us to further expand
our service portfolio and to make it
even more competitive. This also
includes the mentioned rail product
(editor’s note: More on the new rail
product in the next issue of our InterRail Newsflash!).
2. What hindrances or challenges
are there?
We observe, on the one hand, the
brisk development of container block
train traffics between Europe and
China, but on the other hand only
weak efforts so far to offer open trains
to be loaded with single containers or
container groups from different companies. After all, a decisive share of
the trade relations with the CIS states, with China, and Mongolia is held
by customers from the SME sector.
Yet container block trains are no viable option for these companies.
This is why, together with our partners, we have developed, in the past
few months, an appropriate offer for
the market with Brest as the interface.
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ImPRINT Public Relations - InterRail Holding AG, St. Gallen / Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 227 15 15, Telefax: +41 71 227 15 30, info@interrail.ag, www.interrail.ag
InterRail Newsflash
NO. 07-08 / 2014
China: Chance and Challenge
Coming soon: our own company
in China
In order to support the product development for the China traffics, the
local InterRail delegation office founded in March 2008 is at this time being expanded and turned into an op-
erative company. “With our own, local
company we will be able to further
extend our activities in China and
thus to strengthen our position also in
our other core markets”, says Hans
Reinhard, InterRail Chairman of the
Board.
Different products for different requirements
«Sustainable and economically efficient container block trains need containers to move in roundtrips»
The InterRail Group handles, among
others, regular container block trains
from Chengdu to Lodz and from
Wuhan to Pardubice. In this, InterRail
relies on strong, operative partnerships on China, Russia, and the CIS
states. At the same time, there is constant work on offering open trains, as
already mentioned in the interview
with Tufan Khalaji.
A decisive criterion for the realization
of sustainable Euro-Asian rail freight
products is, as Howard Lamb, CEO
InterRail Group, emphasizes, the
balance of container flows in both
directions. “Here, we still need more
innovation. Traditionally, eastbound
is regarded as a backhaul trade.”
For single container shipments from
China to Europe and from Europe
to China, InterRail Logistics GmbH,
Frankfurt, offers two container express trains: the TransSib Express
via Siberia and the Trans-Kaz Express through Kazakhstan (see
Newsflash No. 5-6/2014).
What is needed to make rail products sustainable?
Howard Lamb points out he sees
potential in a reliable service with hubs
in Brest and at the border stations in
Western China: “This could strengthen
eastbound traffic and guarantee the
cost-efficient roundtrip utilization of
containers and rolling stock.”
The offer is suited for technological
and commercials enterprises, for the
automobile and mechanical engineering industries as well as for the
pharmaceutical and chemical sectors.
Zabaikalsk / Manzhouli
Dostyk / Alashankou
China
In 2013, the Chinese national economy grew by 7.7 %, which remains
very high by international standards,
even if the two-digit growth rates of
past years were no longer reached.
Chinese foreign trade has grown
more than tenfold in the past 12 years.
In 2013, exports went up by 7.9 %,
imports by 7.3 %. Thus, the balance
of trade surplus reached 260 billion
USD or 2.5 % of the Gross Domestic
Product. In exports, China is world
champion, followed by the United
States and Germany. (Source: Federal Foreign Office, Berlin)
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IMPRINT Public Relations - InterRail Holding AG, St. Gallen / Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 227 15 15, Telefax: +41 71 227 15 30, info@interrail.ag, www.interrail.ag
InterRail Newsflash
No. 07-08 / 2014
NEWS FROM THE INTERRAIL GROUP
20 years TransRail-BCH Ltd., Belarus
This year, TransRail-BCH Ltd. celebrates its 20-year jubilee.
The company was founded in 1994
as a joint venture with the Bielorussian Railways in Minsk, Belarus. As a
freight forwarding agency, TransRail
markets the Railway services to forwarders and transport organisations
in a competitively neutral way. These
services include traditional transit as
well as bilateral traffic with the CIS.
Today, with Tatjana Kim as Managing
Director, there are 23 employees who
work for the company both in Minsk
and in Brest. The offer of services
comprises freight rates, detailed
market know-how, solutions for prob-
lems during trans-shipment or when
changing axles – problems which
arise due to the track change from
the European norm to the Russian
broad gauge – container and conventional loads; liquid goods, bulk material and mass goods; wagon groups
as well as block trains.
As part of the InterRail Group, TransRail-BCH Ltd. has a broad network thanks to its holding company,
TransInvest. It can thus offer reliable
support along the whole transportation route.
In the past, TransRail Minsk also successfully promoted the use of the Internet for swifter customs clearance
at border crossings. To this aim, cooperating with other partners from the
TransInvest Group, TransRail-BCH
established an IT portal for the electronic customs pre-clearance of shipments at the Belorussian border.
News from the railway market
More container trains on the Trans-Sib
According to information from Gennadi Bessonov, Secretary General
of the International Coordinating
Council on Transsiberian Transports
CCTT, the volume of transports via
container trains along the Trans-Si-
berian railroad corridor has increased
markedly. He reports 571.62 thousand TEUs transported on container
trains along the Trans-Sib in 2013,
an increase of almost 40 % as compared to 2012 in this business sector.
At this time, says Bessonov, 30 regular national, and 30 regular international container train connections are
using the Trans-Sib.
RZD: Decrease in cargo transports continues
In July 2014, the cargo transports
volume along the Russian railway
network showed a year-on-year decrease by 3.4 %. For August, a similar decrease between 3% and 4%
is expected. In all, the RZD cargo
transports have declined by 1.6%
in the first six months of 2014. The
6.5% rise in export traffics especially
to the ports was not able to balance
the lower volumes in domestic traffic
(-3.7%), import (-8.75%), and transit
(-23.7%).
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ImPRINT Public Relations - InterRail Holding AG, St. Gallen / Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 227 15 15, Telefax: +41 71 227 15 30, info@interrail.ag, www.interrail.ag
InterRail Newsflash
No. 07-08 / 2014
News from the railway market
Carrying capacity of BAM and Trans-Sib to be increased
The volume of investments in the
Baikal Amur Magistral (BAM) and
the Trans-Siberian Railway Magistral
will, as per an evaluation from RZD,
increase the carrying capacity of
these railway corridors by 66 million
tons per year.
Recent polls show that the demand
of the Russian economy requires a
capacity increase of about 75 million
tons per year along these routes. Today, BAM carries 10 million tons per
year, the Trans-Sib 100 million tons.
The consensus is that in future, on
the BAM, mainly bulk goods traffics
are to roll to the Pacific ports, while
Trans-Sib is to be used mainly by
container block trains.
The Ukraine crisis has impacts on Russia traffic
In the meantime, foreign trade between Russia and the EU is suffering
under a double burden, which means
impacts on the transport volumes across all carriers have to be expected.
On July 31, in view of the crisis in Ukraine, the European Union adopted
economic sanctions against Russia
that are valid for new contracts beginning August 1st, 2014.
The sanctions include an import and
export embargo for arms goods to or
from Russia, a ban on the export of
dual-use goods, if they have a mili-
tary use or are delivered to a military
end consumer, and the duty to obtain
a permit for the export to Russia of
equipment and technological goods
for the oil production (with the exception of sub-sea and arctic oil production as well as shale petroleum production).
Moreover, by now, 20 organizations
and 87 persons have been black-listed, which is an additional burden on
trade and traffic with Russia.
from the EU and the US with a ban
on the import of certain goods, a fact
that also has negative consequences
for trade and traffic with Russia. For
a list of the products under the import
embargo please go to the next page
of this Newsflash.
Similar sanctions, some of them even
more restrictive, have been adopted
by the USA, Canada, and other countries.
Russia, on her part, has reacted to
the policy of sanctions especially
A ban on all rail transports with final destination Donezk was introduced
As per the Direction of the Council on Rail Traffic communiqué number DK-117 dated July 28, 2014, a ban on the
transport of all goods and of empty containers / wagons with Donezk as the final destination was introduced until further
notice, owing to the unstable situation.
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ImPRINT Public Relations - InterRail Holding AG, St. Gallen / Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 227 15 15, Telefax: +41 71 227 15 30, info@interrail.ag, www.interrail.ag
InterRail Newsflash
No. 07-08 / 2014
Products and goods affected by the Russian import ban
Please find here a list of the agricultural products, raw materials, victuals from the USA, the EU countries, Canada, Australia, and Norway that must not be imported into the Russian Federation for a twelve-month period. Please note that
we do not guarantee the completeness and accuracy of this list.
Code ТН ВЭД ТС (Code according to FEACN CU - Foreign Name of the goods *)***)
Economic Activity Commodity Nomenclature of the Customs Union)
0201
Beef, fresh and refrigerated
0202
Beef, frozen
0203
Pork, fresh, refrigerated, or frozen
0207
Poultry or sub-products of poultry as per item 0105 ,
fresh, refrigerated, or frozen
from 0210 )**
Salt meat, in brine, hard cured or smoked
0301, 0302, 0303, 0304, 0305, 0306, 0307, 0308
Fish and shellfish, mollusks and other invertebrate water
animals
0401, 0402, 0403, 0404, 0405, 0406
Milk and dairy products
0701, 0702 00 000, 0703, 0704, 0705, 0706, 0707 00,
0708, 0709, 0710, 0711, 0712, 0713, 0714
Vegetables, edible root vegetables and tubers
0801, 0802, 0803, 0804, 0805, 0806, 0807, 0808, 0809,
0810, 0811, 0813
Fruits and nuts
1601 00
Sausage and analogous products made from meat, meat
sub-products or blood; finished foods made from these
products
1901 90 110 0, 1901 90 910 0
Finished food products, including cheese and curd (cottage cheese) based on plant oils
2106 90 920 0, 2106 90 980 4, 2106 90 980 5,
2106 90 980 9
Food stuffs (products on the basis of plant oils containing
milk)
* Fur the purposes of application of this list it is necessary to be guided solely by a FEACN CU Code (Code ТН ВЭД ТС); name of product is given for ease of use.
** For the purposes of application of this item it is necessary to be guided both by a FEACN CU Code (Code ТН ВЭД ТС), and by name of product.
*** Except for the products intended for infant use.
TARIFF POLICY, Additional Freight costs and fees
Rise in tariffs - Ukraine 2014
As per the Ukrainian Ministry for Infrastructure communiqué number 306, dated July 11, 2014, new coefficients have
been introduced for the freight tariffs for export / import and inland traffic. The tariffs increase by about 12 %.
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ImPRINT Public Relations - InterRail Holding AG, St. Gallen / Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 227 15 15, Telefax: +41 71 227 15 30, info@interrail.ag, www.interrail.ag
InterRail Newsflash
No. 07-08 / 2014
News from the TransInvest Group
A fresh wind in trade with Iran
Recent signs pointing to a better
economic climate in Iran, thanks to
improving relations with several trading partners, have been welcomed
by business communities the world
over.
According to Iran’s ministry of economic affairs and finance, 800 foreign investors visited the country
in the period following the easing of
sanctions up to early May of this year.
Yousef Sherkati, CEO and member of the Board of the international
group TransInvest, recently shared
his enthusiasm about the revival of
trade with Iran with ITJ correspondent Christine Kulke-Fiedler.
Yousef Sherkati, CEO and Member
of the Board of TransInvest
How important is Iran in TransInvest’s overall business?
Several companies and networks
in our group have been involved in
transport and logistics operations
with Iran for more than 50 years, and
have had offices of their own there
for a very long time. Our entities also
focus on transit operations, taking
international consignments through
Iran. One of our firms that I want to
draw your attention to is the Perse International Forwarding Co. This network of companies is active in every
Iranian transport and logistics field.
In what ways has your group’s
infrastructure expanded in Iran in
recent years?
We aren’t only experienced in the
market, with developed know-how,
but also have the appropriate infrastructure in Iran itself, as you say. Our
focus in the years before the revolution – especially in the period before
the collapse of the Soviet Union –
was on the regions in the north. Our
transit freight passed through the former Soviet Union, via Djulfa, through
Turkey, via Bazarghan and across
the Caspian Sea. Later the Persian
Gulf port of Bandar Abbas was developed and expanded, and our focus
shifted there.
Your group is obviously well-positioned for an upturn in international trade with Iran. Are you already
experiencing this growth?
Iranian imports declined drastically
during the embargo, but we were
able to retain all our managers by
concentrating on providing services
to the minerals export sector, as well
as offering freight transit facilities to
and from Central Asia through Iran.
We presently have many new enquiries coming in and are making many
(Source: ITJ Special Iran 23-26/2014)
new contacts. We hope that these
will result in concrete new business
opportunities before long.
You have a direct business interest
in the port of Bandar Abbas. Several large shipping lines decided
not to call at Bandar Abbas any
more in recent years. Are some of
these activities returning?
Our group has more than 700,000
sqm of terminal and storage area in
Bandar Abbas and we’re the only
service provider there with a private terminal with railway sidings. We
also have a terminal with railway sidings for bulk transhipments there.
Some lines have signed up for resumed direct services to Bandar Abbas.
Others are negotiating with us. A number of companies have their bills of lading issued directly to Bandar Abbas,
yet they get the containers themselves
routed via Jebel Ali (UAE), using feeder
services provided by third parties. The
shipping companies that resort to these arrangements include Yang Ming,
OOCL, Wan Hai, Emirates, Evergreen,
Hyundai, Hanjin, MSC, Messina, PIL
and Perma.
Have the changes in the structure
of Iranian foreign trade affected
business?
In the last Iranian calendar year (to
20 March), around 75% of Iran’s imports came from Asia, and only 22%
from Europe. In the 1990s the ratio
was more or less the opposite. So
we had to change the focus of our
activities accordingly, especially with
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ImPRINT Public Relations - InterRail Holding AG, St. Gallen / Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 227 15 15, Telefax: +41 71 227 15 30, info@interrail.ag, www.interrail.ag
InterRail Newsflash
No. 07-08 / 2014
respect to the source of imports. With
the easing of the embargo we’ll certainly be taking up imports from Europe and the US again, provided there
is the requisite customer interest.
One of the Iranian government’s
transport policy priorities is the
development of international corridors. What is the state of these
projects?
Since the revolution Iran has invested
heavily in the railway sector, amongst
other fields. TransInvest also became
heavily involved in the railway sector.
One of our projects was for a terminal
for conventional cargo, with an adjacent rail terminal, a container facility
as well as a bulk freight rail hub.
Another project we’re involved in is
for the development of rail corridors,
particularly for the north-south trade.
This is moving along satisfactorily.
Of course it’s true that many railway
routes are still single-track, and not
electrified. Transport operations are
thus relatively simple. But we expect
several new opportunities to open up
in the near future, especially in the international corridors east and west of
the Caspian Sea, as well as along the
New Silk Road to China.
Are any of your firms active at the
new border-crossing points to Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, or to
other countries?
As mentioned, we’re heavily involved in transit operations, for example providing services to Afghanistan
via Bandar Abbas and Tayebad, or
logistics services to Turkmenistan
for various kinds of equipment suppliers. We also haul cotton and fertilizers from Uzbekistan. In order to
provide the best possible service to
our customers we have a presence
at all major border crossings, old and
new, either through partners or with
our own agents.
Are you planning any new investment projects in transport and logistics services to improve your
business with Iran?
We’re exploring opportunities in Bandar Abbas for a bulk export terminal
and are also looking into the purchase
of hopper wagons. We’re also talking
to PMO about a joint investment in a
third container-handling dock in Bandar Abbas. In any case, one way or
another we’re confident that there is
a rosy future for the transport and
logistics business in trade with and
through Iran.
PTB Rail Bulk Terminal in Bandar Abbas
InterRail in Iran
InterRail participates actively in rail
transports via the Iranian transit
route, for instance for cotton and
fertilizer transports. Tarabari Rail,
the Iranian InterRail affiliate, was
founded in 1997 and registered under
this name. Since 2004, the company
has been part of the InterRail Group.
The company has offices in Teheran,
Sarakhs, Mashad, and Bandar
Abbas. InterRail Iran offers end-toend tariffs in imports, exports, as
well as for transit from and to Russia,
Central Asia, India, China, Turkey
and Europe. For the transports,
different carriers are used.
The country
Iran belongs to the key countries
along the 2000 year old historical
Silk Road, which was the most important trade route between Europe
and Asia for a long time. The main
stream came from what today is
known as Turkmenistan and crossed
the Iranian border at today’s Sarakhs. Amongst others, it led via Rey,
a city about 15 km south of Tehran
and a hub of the trading route in those days. To date, Iran is an important
transit country. By far the most important trading ports are Bandar Abbas
and Bandar Imam Khomeini on the
Persian Gulf, and Bandar Anzali on
the Caspian Sea. During the past
years, this large-scale network has
undergone a revival – all along of five
main corridors, important traffic projects have been launched and others
will follow.
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ImPRINT Public Relations - InterRail Holding AG, St. Gallen / Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 227 15 15, Telefax: +41 71 227 15 30, info@interrail.ag, www.interrail.ag