Russian economy quagmire as key exports and imports slump

Vladimir Putin faces an economic setback as new figures suggest that key Russian imports and exports have slumped. The country's container market decreased by 3.1% between January and May compared to the same period in 2024 to 2.671million Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU), according to analysts from the FESCO transport group. Meanwhile, imports decreased by 5% to 1.122million TEU, the Russian news service Interfax reported. Rail transit suffered a 4% hit to 240,000 TEU, and domestic transportation by 13% to 491,000 TEU. Container exports, however, increased by 8% to 818,000 TEU.

Export shipments via land border crossings also saw a 17% increase compared to the first five months of last year, according to FESCO, with export container shipments via far east ports increasing by 9%, via the port of Novorossiysk, by 5%. Although, at the same time, exports via ports in the Baltic basin decreased by 8%.

Imports through the Baltic ports, though, increased by 13% - through Novorossiysk, by 8%.

But, via far eastern ports, import shipments decreased by 16%.

Interfax added that, in May 2025, container shipping volumes decreased by 6.9% compared to the same month last year, to 540,000 TEU.

In March, FESCO Vice President for the Linear and Logistics Division German Maslov told journalists that the Russian container could grow 3% in 2025.

"We estimate Russian container market growth tonnes 3% in 2025 compared to 2024. It is clear that some segments will grow more, some less.

"As for trends, we see an overall decrease in cargo flow through the Far East with an increase in the overall cargo flow through the North-West of Russia," Maslov said, according to Interfax.

It comes after Russian rail freight dropped to a 16-year historic low, according to figures reported in May.

Only 92.9million tonnes of freight moved by train in the country in April, representing a year-on-year decline of 8.6%, according to the International Railway Journal.

State-owned railway firm RZD said: "The main losses in volumes are associated with a decrease in domestic transport of construction materials, coal, ferrous metals and scrap metal, owing to a decrease in demand from the sectors of the economy consuming these commodities."

Earlier this month, Railway Supply reported that drone strikes continued to cause major freight delays across Russia, which are severely affecting logistics.