China-Europe rail freight booms amid Red Sea crisis, but will it last?

After two years of decline, railfreight volumes between China and Europe have regained momentum, with westbound flows increasing by 130% year-on-year, largely due to disruptions caused by the Red Sea crisis.

In total, shipments from China to Europe reached 330,700 TEU, while 49,730 TEU travelled in the opposite direction. Despite this being the lowest figure since 2017, marking a 26.7% year-on-year drop, overall China-Europe volumes grew by 80.2% compared to 2023, as reported by the European Rail Alliance.

Supply chain analytics platform Upply noted that disruptions played a significant role in boosting China-to-Europe rail freight volumes.

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