Magazines — RZD-Partner International — 1 (21) march-april 2010
1 (21) march-april 2010
Contents
Editorial
EDITORIAL
It seems that the Russian transport sector can breathe a sigh of relief since it showed better results last year than had been expected. Coordinated stimulus measures taken across the globe helped increase the demand for commodities which are contributing the most to national throughput.Plans Remain Scaled
THEME / machinery engineering is speeding up
The economic recession has hardly touched federal and national projects for railway construction in the Russian Federation. RZD still carries out all serious projects, the construction and modernisation of which were announced recently. Thus, the mobility of people from the cities located in the western and central part of Russia will increase. Valentin Gapanovich, Senior Vice President, Chief Engineer of RZD, comments for The RZD-Partner International on the details of the projects.
Operators did not save the sector
THEME / machinery engineering is speeding up
Purchases of rolling stock by private operators in 2009 had to provide substantial support to the wagon-building sector. Ministry of Transport of Russian Federation worked out a forecast at the end of 2008, which said that in 2009 the number of cargo wagons purchased by private companies from Russian manufacturers could be about 50,000 units. Let’s compare: in 2008, independent private companies acquired almost 45,000 wagons. However, the difficult economic situation which hurt the industry in 2009 seriously changed the opportunities of the companies: purchasing numbers appeared to be only about 10,000 units.
Felix Blinov: “We are interested in strategic investors”
THEME / machinery engineering is speeding up
In early February, a conference on investment climate problems took place in Moscow. It was chaired by Dmitry Medvedev, the RF President. The crisis had worsened the situation in the sector of investment in the Russian economy, summed up the conference participants. In the words of Mr Medvedev, if BRIC countries were compared, the situation in Russia was better than in Brazil but worse than in India or China.
Panorama. Economics
ECONOMICS / Panorama
On 29 January in Vienna, RZDstroy and Alpine Bau GmbH set up the joint venture Alpine-RZDstroy, with the participation of Vladimir Yakunin, RZD President, and Dietmar Aluta-Oltyan, Alpine Holding part owner and Supervisory Board Chairman. The joint venture’s role will be to draw up proposals for, and implement, special infrastructure projects on the territories of the Russian Federation, Austria and other countries.Northern hub of Russia
ECONOMICS / government policy
This year Murmansk is planning to begin extensive works to create its new transport hub
Transport projects in Russia: What is staying after the crisis?
ECONOMICS / Projects and Investments
The year 2009 did not have an equal effect on the large Russian infrastructure projects. Some of them were postponed until better times, and others saw a reduction in funding. Only a few of the projects are continuing, mostly those where the State is the main investor.The great silk road or a paper tiger?
ECONOMICS / Transporting corridors
The Eurasia canal that is supposed to connect Caspian Sea and Azov and Black Sea basin is often mentioned when the ancient Great Silk Road is recalled. Will this ambitious project be brought to life in the foreseeable future?
RZD Creates the Largest Passenger Company
ECONOMICS / Reform
The Board of Directors of RZD approved the documents required for the establishment of a subsidiary company in the field of transportation of passengers in November 2009. Federal Passenger Company (FPC) will start its economic activities on April 1, 2010.
Records have become a thing of the past
ECONOMICS / CIS and Baltic States
The crisis impacted the railway companies of the Baltic states. After the record volumes carried in 2008, there was a fall in their results. The Lithuanian railway suffered most of all.
Panorama. Transportation
TRANSPORTATION / Panorama
Outbound containers transported via the Trans-Siberian Railroad amounted to 267,062 TEUs in 2009, a 56% drop compared with the previous year, reported the Coordinating Council on the Trans-Siberian Transportation.Oil Transportation Is Stable
TRANSPORTATION / Oil transportation
Railway operators specialising in oil transportation, traditionally one of the most stable businesses, weathered the year of 2009. The volume of this cargo carried by rail dropped by only 15%.
An Ice Age in the Container Business
TRANSPORTATION / Container transportation
2009 was a severe test for Russia’s container industry, as well as for all other sectors of economic activity. The curves of the container transportation charts have plummeted for the first time in several years (by 28%), whereas in the period from 2003 to 2008 one could see a steady growth of 5% to 13% a year.Latvian carriers under the spotlight
TRANSPORTATION / Auto Transport
At the end of 2009, the Russian customs service was implementing special measures to control Latvian and Lithuanian truckers. These measures had been taken during the busiest season, as freight traffic from EU countries to Russia traditionally reaches its peak in mid-December. In January 2010, the special control measures were cancelled. However, the tension in relationships between Russia and Baltic countries still exists.
Financial Disaster Looms for Russian Civil Aviation
TRANSPORTATION / Air Transport
This year will prove a moment of truth for many air carriers, if the state does not support their business: many of them are on the verge of bankruptcy.
The Arctic is waiting for cargo and a new fleet
TRANSPORTATION / sea transport
The Northern Sea Route (NSR) stretches along the northern coast of Russia - from the Kara Gate to the Bering Strait. It has been officially open to international navigation since 1991. The NSR is almost half the distance of other sea routes connecting Europe and the Far East. Nevertheless, it is not overcrowded with vessels, unlike the Euro-Asian routes through the Suez Canal. What is the reason?
Panorama. Company
COMPANY / Panorama
The aggregated throughput of NCC terminals in 2009 amounted to 1,154,785 TEU. The throughput of First Container Terminal (St Petersburg) in 2009 amounted to 938,931 TEU (-12.4% compared with 2008). The throughput of NUTEP (Novorossiysk) in 2009 was 120,735 TEU (-3% compared with 2008).Pessimistic expectations did not come true
COMPANY / OAO RZD
Last year Russia’s railways reduced the volume of transported cargoes by 15%, compared to 2008. But RZD’s Management says that originally they expected a worse result. It had been forecasted that a drop in shipments could amount to almost 20%.
There is a lack of feedback between business and authorities
COMPANY / Doing Business in Russia
Sergey Chernyshev, CEO of Ruukki’s office in Russia, talks about his vision of the Russian business environment and efficient policy instruments applied during the crisis.
Conference as a business tool
PRODUCTION AND SERVICES / Cjonferences and exhibitions
Nowadays there’s no doubt that participation in exhibitions is one of the most effective marketing tools for a company. The figures describing development of the exhibition business in Russia prove it, as well as the popularity of such events among market players.According to analysts the Russian exhibition market has grown 15% annually for the last 10 years, and over recent years it tends to stabilize. Although most of the companies already have decided what exhibition arrangements suit them most, there are many ambitious newcomers trying to win the market with a high quality of service and original events.
Honesty is the best policy
PRODUCTION AND SERVICES / Cjonferences and exhibitions
The global recession and the changes in the economic situation provoked by it impacted on practically all industries. And the business community started to look for answers to the new challenges. The activity of business gurus and consultants, whose forecasts and recommendations had made people invest into the companies collapsed later, turned to be compromised. That is why the consolidation of intellectual resources is necessary now to move to a new qualitative level. This basic demand of the post-recession community may be fulfilled at communication platforms, where experts come together to find new solutions and develop the basis for the changed economy. This issue of The RZD-Partner International will be published before
the beginning of the largest Russian transport exhibition, and we would like to discuss present and future of the sectoral and international forums, exhibitions and conferences with Anatoly Kitsura, head of the first national event-operator Business Dialogue.
Leasing Market Stuck at a Crossroads
PRODUCTION AND SERVICES / finances
When The RZD-Partner International wrote about the state of affairs on the leasing market for rolling stock a year ago, none of the experts was able to predict what to expect in the following year of 2009. Surprisingly, today we have almost the same situation: the forecasts range from expectations of rapid growth to the most pessimistic scenarios.
