Ruscon Sees Cargo Boost Despite Russian Downturn

Though Russian ports have seen a general decline in the number of containers handled, multimodal operator Ruscon reports it has seen its own numbers rise.

Ruscon, a subsidiary of Russian container transport company Global Container Service (GCS), said it handled 65,793 laden containers in the first half of 2015 compared with 58,754 in the same period last year, representing an 11 percent increase.

This is in contrast to the total volumes at the ports where Ruscon operates, with throughput at St Petersburg on the Baltic Sea falling by 28.5 percent, at Novorossiysk on the Black Sea by 21 percent, and the Russian Pacific ports of Vladivostok and Vostochniy by 27 percent.

The company handles containers for Russian import of retail, food, electronics and automotive cargos, as well as export of wood and paper, agribulks and chemicals.

Ruscon said its good balance between import and export volumes help it to provide exporters with containers, which are in short supply as exports have grown due to the weak rouble and the fall in oil prices. Imports are still being affected by the devaluation of the Russian currency at the end of 2014.

The majority of Ruscon’s business is in the Port of Novorossiysk, with 49,074 containers handled in the first half of 2015, compared to 41,842 in the same period in 2014, the company explained. In St Petersburg, meanwhile, Ruscon handled 13,654 containers (15,010 in H1,2014) and in the Russian Pacific ports 3065 containers (1,902 in H1,2014).