Russia-China freight on Russian Railways network hits record 114 mln tons in 7 months

MOSCOW, August 24. /TASS/. Freight transportation between Russia and China on the Russian Railways network increased by 6% in January-July to a record 114 mln metric tons, the company said. Shipments of oil cargoes from Russia to China via the company’s network rose by 7%, fertilizer shipments by 15%, while shipments of vehicles and components in the opposite direction increased by more than 51%.

"In the first seven months of 2026, freight transportation between Russia and China totaled 114 mln metric tons, a new record," the statement said. Container traffic reached 2.1 mln TEUs, an increase of 12.5%.

Freight shipments to China increased by 4.5% to 99.6 mln metric tons. Coal shipments rose by 5.1% to 62.2 mln metric tons, iron ore by 5.6% to 9.5 mln metric tons, oil cargoes by 7% to 7.9 mln metric tons, and fertilizers by 15.1% to 3.6 mln metric tons.

A total of 14.4 mln metric tons of freight was shipped from China, up 17.5% year on year. Shipments of chemicals increased by 15.6% to 2.9 mln metric tons, manufactured goods by 24.3% to 2.1 mln metric tons, nonferrous ore by 21.3% to 1.4 mln metric tons, and vehicles and components by 51.6% to 1.3 mln metric tons.

A total of 80.6 mln metric tons was transported via ports in trade with China, up 10%, while 33.4 mln metric tons was transported through border crossings, down 2.6%.