RUSSIA is grappling with over 150,000 shipping containers, presenting challenges for rail depots, reports Singapore's Straits Times.

This surplus reflects a significant influx of Chinese goods into the country, but a notable lack of goods flowing out. These findings stem from an analysis recently published by Container xChange, a Germany-based trading platform.

Container xChange CEO Christian Roeloffs emphasized the substantial movement of cargo from China to Russia while highlighting the scarcity of cargo making its way back from Russia to China. This imbalance in supply and demand is having a profoundly adverse impact on container logistics businesses

Unlike the cargo congestion observed off the coast of Los Angeles three years ago, which primarily resulted from an influx of imports during the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's container surplus is more closely linked to geopolitical factors.

Despite facing sanctions from Western economies following its Ukraine invasion, the Moscow government anticipates that trade volume with China will surpass US$200 billion in 2023, up from $185 billion in 2022.