He said that there was a decrease in production in the market of railway platforms used to transport containers in Russia. RBC General Director of the TransContainer company Vitaly Evdokimenko. He notes that the production volume of such platforms has decreased significantly in recent years.
According to Evdokimenko, factories are increasingly focusing on the production of gondola cars, hoppers (bulk cars) and tanks, which are more profitable segments. The production of platforms for container transportation is now organized on its basis. If in 2021 about 25 thousand platforms of this type were produced, last year – 12.3 thousand and 8 thousand are predicted for this year, in 2024 only 6.5 thousand platforms are expected to be produced.
Transcontainer is the largest rail container operator in Russia and the CIS. The company has 40 thousand assembly platforms. According to data from the Association of Automobile Manufacturers, as of August 2023, 108.5 thousand such platforms were operating in the Russian market.
Experts confirm that there will be a decrease in the production of railway platforms in 2023. Alexander Slobodyanik, head of the freight transport research department of the Institute for Problems of Natural Monopoly (IPEM), notes that a particularly significant decrease in production was observed in the segment of assembly platforms. According to IPEM, from January to August 2023, the number of such platforms was recorded at 5.4 thousand; This is 29.3% less than in the same period in 2022.
Evdokimenko warned that the cost of assembling the platform will increase due to the decrease in production. Since the beginning of 2023, prices have increased by 30% to 5 million rubles excluding VAT. But even at this price, it is difficult to buy them due to scarcity in the market.
However, Evgeny Semenov, general director of the Association of Automobile Manufacturers, assures that there will be no shortage of assembly platforms on the market. He states that the Union’s enterprises are ready to meet the market needs for all types of freight vehicles. The Association of Automobile Manufacturers includes 27 companies, including such large factories as Uralvagonzavod, Tikhvin Car-Building Plant and RM Rail. Representatives of the RM Rail company confirmed that there is no shortage of assembly platforms.
Previously in Russia taken into account Extending the service life of cars without modernization.