The market for railway platforms used to move containers in Russia has seen a clear downturn in production, according to Vitaly Evdokimenko, the general director of TransContainer. He notes that output of these platforms has fallen sharply over recent years as factories shift toward more profitable lines.
Evdokimenko explains that factories are increasingly prioritizing gondola cars, bulk cars, and tank cars. These segments offer higher profitability, and platform production is now aligned with that shift. In 2021, roughly 25,000 container platforms were produced. By the following year, production had dropped to about 12,300 units, with 2024 projections around 6,500 units.
TransContainer stands as the largest rail container operator in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The company manages about 40,000 assembling platforms. Market data from the Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that as of August 2023, roughly 108,500 platforms operated within Russia.
Industry experts expect a continued decrease in platform production for 2023. Alexander Slobodyanik, head of the freight transport research department at the Institute for Problems of Natural Monopoly, notes a particularly steep fall in the assembly platform segment. The Institute for Problems of Natural Monopoly reports that from January through August 2023, assembly platform production reached 5,400 units, down 29.3 percent from the same period in 2022.
Evdokimenko warns that the cost of assembling platforms will rise as production slows. Since early 2023, prices have risen by around 30 percent, reaching about 5 million rubles before value added tax. Even at that price, scarcity in the market makes procurement difficult for buyers.
Nevertheless, Evgeny Semenov, the general director of the Association of Automobile Manufacturers, asserts that a supply shortfall is unlikely. He emphasizes that the association’s member plants are prepared to meet market demand for all freight vehicle types. The Association of Automobile Manufacturers includes 27 companies, among them the Uralvagonzavod, the Tikhvin Car-Building Plant, and RM Rail. RM Rail representatives have confirmed that there is no shortage of assembling platforms in the market.
In Russia, prior discussions have centered on extending the service life of rolling stock without modernization, a policy that also continues to influence market dynamics and investment decisions across the freight rail sector.