Freight Train Update
- Overall, the operation of China-Europe Express has efficiently performed:
- Xi’an, Chengdu, Chongqing and other stations – Mala: 10-12 days on average;
- Xi’an – Budapest: 16 days (fastest record);
- Yiwu, Hefei, Ganzhou, Chengdu and Zhengzhou – Moscow: 15-19 days (on average);
- Guiyang, Chongqing – Moscow: 11 days (fastest train). The handling at Alashankou is more efficient compared to Khorgos according to the analysis of Cargo Talk.
- The transport to the east-bound trains could be delayed with 10 days compared with the T/T last two months due to the low temperature.
- Increasing demand for China-Europe Express on the Russian route:
- Some scheduled trains were delayed to early January;
- The market spot freight rate increased by 6% to 10%.
- The cost of leasing containers in Russia has grown on a regular basis, and South China, particularly Xiamen, remains short of containers.
- Russia will usher in the New Year holiday from December 31 to January 8.
Car Sales in Russia
There was a drop in the sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia during January-November 2022 by 60/9%.
According to Association of European Businesses (AEB), only in November, 46.7 thousand automobiles and light commercial vehicles were sold in November only, a 61.6% decrease year on year. Car sales, on the other hand, increased by 2.6% month on month.
New cars and light commercial vehicles sales in Russia, Top-5 brands in November 2022: Lada, Haval, GAZ, Geely.
Apart from UAS and Geely being China’s DFM (up 2.2 times) and FAW (up 23%), very few brands offered in the Russian market showed positive dynamics in November.
TH Russia
Last year (2021), TH Corp has operated several farms in Russia:
- Moscow:
- The first farm in the Volokolamsk District with a scale of 6,000 cows will complete the first phase in December 2021
- The second farm that raises 6,000 cows will be built in Shatura District from April 2023 to Q4/2024.
- Kaluga: A farm in Ulyanovo District with a scale of 6,000 cows will complete the first phase in April 2022 and the second phase in April 2023.
- Specially, the factory in Kaluga has been applied TH clean fresh milk processing model:
- Location: Kaluga
- First phase: Capacity of 500 tonnes per day, built from December 2021 to Q4/2023.
- Second phase: Capacity of 1,000 tonnes per day will be completed in Q4/2026.
Taiwan PCB Manufacturing Relocation
Some Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are being considered a destination for Taiwan-based PCB and CCL suppliers.
Previously, these companies have built their production sites in Kunshan, China. However, they are planning to move their factory with above shortlisted nations.
ThaiBev turns to EV charging and restaurants in diversifying from beer
In 2023, ThaiBev will invest up to 8 billion baht ($223 million) with the following plans:
- Non-beer firms will receive 30% of the funds. The rest will go into areas like logistics and research and development in health products
- Open 70 new restaurants by the end of 2023
- Develop electric-vehicle charging facilities