Global e-commerce giant Amazon seems to be taking decisive steps to decarbonise its European supply chains. The company has revealed that during 2023, rail and sea transport’s share in its logistical solutions increased by 50 per cent. Trucks still play an important role in first and last-mile operations; however, Amazon claims it is committed to enhancing rail and sea transport solutions even more in the near future.

Back in 2020, the company reported an impressive 300 per cent increase in rail movements across Europe, which in 2023 increased by 50 per cent more. Currently, it claims to be using 100 rail lines within Europe. The growth is seemingly immense, and one would expect all Amazon shipments to move around via rail or sea to reach destinations around Europe.

However, it should also be noted that Amazon, being a traditional online retailer focusing on quick logistics, has been using trucks and road transport extensively to fulfil this role. Consequently, even if the share of rail is indeed steadily increasing in its operations, its total share still has space to grow, making the company a customer with great potential for rail and intermodal operators.

Some rail and multimodal logistics companies that Amazon already cooperates with in Europe include CargoBeamer, Mercitalia, VIIA and DFDS. The company also has contracts with sea operators Stena Line and Grimaldi.

Multimodality for SMEs

According to Amazon, and this is something interesting for the rail industry to keep in mind, most of its intra-European shipments concern small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which comprise 60 per cent of the platform’s sales. The best recipe to keep those customers happy is loading their cargo on intermodal units that can be easily transshiped between rail, road and ship.

A typical Amazon journey takes place between two of the company’s fulfilment centres. The intermediate stops include either rail or port terminals, with the first/last miles taking place by truck. In the case of rail, Amazon’s services resemble an ideal combined transport supply chain, where rail covers most of the distance and truck only provides the needed flexibility to and from the rail terminal.

Facing profitability setbacks after the recent steep freight rate downturns, container lines appear to be exploring other avenues to shore-up balance sheets.

In a sign of a new commercial strategy, MSC has substantially raised documentation charges for export shipments out of India.

From the end of this month, the carrier’s charges towards bill of lading (B/L) release are set to rise by some 60% above its current tariff levels and the scale of rates collected by other carriers.

According to a MSC (India) advisory, from 22 December its seaway B/L fee would increase to 6,500 rupees (about $80) per document, plus local taxes, reportedly from a current base level of 4,250 rupees.

The updated scale would be applied to “all export local and ICD (inland container depot) containers ex-India for all trades,” the Geneva-headquartered carrier said.

Other related charges, like container seal fees, would also rise, to $8 per box, which freight forwarder sources said now generally stand at $6 to $7.

On November 26th, a China-Europe freight train loaded with liquid crystal displays, diesel generators, and daily commodities departed from Wujiashan Station in Wuhan, passing through the Alataw Pass (Alashankou) border port and heading to Malaszewicze, Poland. This marked the 6001st outgoing freight train passing through Alataw Pass this year, surpassing last year by 23 days to reach this milestone of 6000 trains. Up to now this year, a total of 621,500 standard containers(TEUs) of import and export goods have passed through the Alataw Pass station, transporting over 6 million tons of cargo.

Alataw Pass is the closest port in China to Europe, making it the shortest international trade route on the “Iron Silk Road” to reach Europe. As of now, a total of 114 routes for China-Europe freight trains have passed through the border port of Alataw Pass, reaching 21 countries including Germany, Poland and others. The cargo carried by these trains involves over 200 varieties of goods, including automobiles and parts, cotton yarn, timber and others, in eight major categories.

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