Russian railcar storage rates jump 2.5x amid fleet surplus
Storage rates for freight railcars in Russia have risen 2.5x since the start of 2025 to RUB 23,000-24,000 per month, driven by fleet surplus and a 7.3 % drop in RZD network loadings.
Storage rates for freight railcars have risen 2.5x since the start of 2025, reaching RUB 23,000-24,000 per month. The driver is a shortage of storage capacity caused by a fleet surplus and a 7.3 % decline in network loadings on Russian Railways (RZD).
Gondola lease rates have also fallen: August rates dropped 25-32 %. Coal haulage profitability on a number of routes has reached zero.
About 400,000 idle railcars are parked across the RZD network; storage capacity in the country's east is critically short.
Analysts expect the situation to improve only on a recovery in coal and construction material exports.
Source: RBC.
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