Page 135 - RusRPTSept21

of Wi-Fi. According to this indicator, the Russian capital ranks third, behind only Madrid and Hong Kong. The Russian capital has secured a top ranking in improvement in several subgroups, including rail transport (where it ranks fifth), shared transport (sixth), and external connectivity (first). In addition, the city was ranked sixth in transport availability index and the second among the leading cities with top improvements in transport availability.
● Trains
RZD Deputy CEO Alexey Shilo announced on 9 August, that lease rates would reach RUB1,250-1,300/day for gondola cars and RUB1,100-1,200/day for oil cisterns by YE21, Interfax reported. Mr. Shilo also said that there is still a surplus of gondola cars and oil cisterns. As we understand, these targets are relative to lease rates of RUB1,000-1,100/day for gondola cars and RUB1,100/day for oil cisterns, which Mr. Shilo also mentioned. In other words, RZD expects a c. 20% growth in lease rates for gondola cars and a c. 5% growth in lease rates for oil cisterns vs. their current levels. We get our data on lease rates from Promgruz, and the latest available data have lease rates at RUB995/day for gondola cars and RUB1,060/day for oil cisterns.
Russian Railways (RZD) released its operating results for July, on 2 August. During the month, cargo volumes were up 4.1% YoY to 108mnt, while loaded freight rail turnover was up 3.8% YoY to 217.6bn tkm.
The published figures for July showed cargo volumes up 4.1% YoY to 108mnt, although total cargo volumes for January-July grew 4.5% YoY to 740.7mn. Cargo volumes for the month were very much in line with ‘pre-covid’ 2019 results. The main positive contributors to the July dynamics were iron and steel scrap (+15.4% YoY to 1.5mnt), cement (+11.5% YoY to 2.9mnt), oil and oil products (+9.2% YoY to 17.7mnt), and coal (+7.1% YoY to 30mnt). The negative results came from grain (-23.5% YoY to 1.3mnt), non-ferrous metals (-5.6% YoY to 1.7mnt) and chemical and mineral fertilizers (-3.6% YoY to 5.3mnt).
Freight turnover and freight turnover taking into account empty wagon runs were up 3.8% YoY and 2.8% YoY to 217.6bn tkm and 272.2bn tkm, respectively. Cargo volumes for July were slightly below RZD’s expected growth of 4.6% YoY for the month, while management expects stable numbers for August and confirms its expectation of 3.3% YoY growth in cargo volumes for a year.
135 RUSSIA Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com