Polish food exported worldwide

Polish foodstuff is popular worldwide, as export figures prove. Beside Europe, new markets such as Asia and America are important destinations for Poland’s exporters. Artur Wojtczak, Sales Director at Militzer & Münch Poland, comments on the chances offered by this trend in the foodstuff industry.

Food products are among Poland’s top exports. In 2017, the value of food exported amounted to 23.6 billion euros – an increase by 9.4 percent in the year-on-year comparison.

Early on, Militzer & Münch Poland recognized the rising demand and offers comprehensive services in national and international food transportation including the storage of food products as well as transport via road, rail, air and sea. “Poland’s food exports will continue to grow”, says Artur Wojtczak. “We benefit from this development to further strengthen our market position and to offer our customers additional services.”

Artur Wojtczak, Sales Director at Militzer & Münch Poland


Export partner number one: Germany

Militzer & Münch recently handled big project transports. The team shipped dairy products to Africa and eggs to the Arabian world. The transports also included various plant fibers that are used for diverse products. Although African and Asian markets are gaining more and more relevance, EU countries remain the top export destinations for Polish food products – with Germany at the top of the list, followed by Great Britain, the Czech Republic and France.

“Our reefer containers are perfectly suited for temperature-sensitive cargo – a must for many foodstuffs transports”, says Artur Wojtczak. Another challenge: transporting goods with a short shelf life. Here, choosing the right mode of transport is decisive. By vessel, the transit time from Poland to China is circa 35 days. Rail freight travels faster: within 14 days, the products arrive in China – a significant difference for time-sensitive food transports.

“Owing to our know-how, Militzer & Münch is a valued partner to the Polish foodstuff industry”, says Artur Wojtczak. “We are confident that in the future we will also use the air freight segment more intensively for food transports.”

What goes where?

Among the food exports from Poland, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, honey, eggs, juices, sweets and organic products are in especially high demand.

  • The export of dairy products such as milk powder and UHT milk is growing mainly with transports to Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, India, Ethiopia, and Australia.
  • Polish sweets are popular in Cameroon, Nigeria, Taiwan or Maldives.
  • Hen’s eggs and blueberries are popular in Arabian countries.

Award-winning airfreight services

Top performance is rewarded: the team M&M Air Cargo Service (ACS) Bulgaria Ltd. was able to win five prizes in 2017.

Militzer & Münch’s Bulgarian airfreight services team has received the “Best Agent in Bulgaria 2017” award three times: by two airlines, Lufthansa and Fly Dubai, and the logistics services provider time:matters.

A further highlight was the festive award ceremony of Turkish Airlines. The airline honored M&M ACS Bulgaria Ltd. with two awards – as “Best Cargo Partner of the Year 2017” and as “Best Partner for Turkish Airlines & Premium Products”.

These awards again emphasize the continued appreciation of Militzer & Münch Bulgaria. Already in 2016, Turkish Airlines and Fly Dubai honored M&M ASC Bulgaria Ltd. as their best cargo partner.

Daniela Toneva (Sales) and Plamen Stoyanov (Export) of M&M Air Cargo Service (ACS) Bulgaria Ltd. at the award ceremony of Turkish Airlines.

Record results in North-East Europe

At the base of the good business development of Militzer & Münch in the Baltics is, among others, the close cooperation with affiliate Cargomax in Latvia. The concept works – transports are reaching record figures. Last year, Cargomax was able to increase its turnover by 16 percent.

A new high: Cargomax transported more than 13,000 shipments by truck in 2017 between Western Europe and the Baltics, among others in cooperation with Militzer & Münch. The record result is mostly based on the growth in road transports. The sales team was also able to increase the number of customers – by seven percent.

“The new figures even top the previous record figure from 2016”, says Dmitrijs Vorniku, Managing Director of Cargomax. “With 6,800 shipments, groupage road cargo traffics (CargoLine) improved the result of the previous year by 13 percent and has the biggest share in increase of gross profit.” The traffic planning team handled almost 5,000 FTL and LTL shipments and achieved an increase of 11 percent, having the biggest share in 16 percent turnover growth. In addition, Cargomax handled 1.500 jobs from and to Great Britain.

Half of the deliveries come from or go to Germany. “We can get goods from Germany to the Baltic states within no more than 72 hours”, says Dmitrijs Vorniku. “In cooperation with our colleagues from Militzer & Münch in Germany for instance, we handle regular transports to deliver parts for a car manufacturer.”

Cargomax, an affiliate of Militzer & Münch, achieved a new record turnover with its truck transports between Western Europe and the Baltic States in 2017.

Conquering the steppe

On some roads in Kazakhstan, you have camels crossing, and  some routes are sand tracks only. Difficult circumstances for the transport of parts for a compressor station to Bozoi in Kazakhstan – the perfect task for Militzer & Münch.

The gas pipeline will cover a distance of almost 1,500 kilometers, from the west of Kazakhstan to Shymkent in the south. For the gas to be able to travel long distances unhindered, compressor stations regulate the pressure. Like in Bozoi, a region in the middle of the Kazakh steppe.

It’s the place where one of several state-of-the-art compressor units is being built for the new pipeline. The components come from all over the world. For instance from Shanghai, more than 6,000 kilometers away. Or, almost as far off, from Europe: Great Britain, Germany or the Netherlands.

“This order was quite a challenge.”

Nikolaus Kohler
Regional Managing Director Middle East / Central Asia

These enormous distances are business as usual for Natalie Andriyevskaya, Managing Director Militzer & Münch Kazakhstan. In the world of logistics assignments, she is up to the task. What she needs are partners who support her in meeting the challenges. Across all borders, across all cultural, linguistic and national differences. And also across rough terrain.

Multimodal transport concept

“This order was quite a challenge”, says Nikolaus Kohler, Regional Managing Director Middle East / Central Asia. “We had to transport five complete compressor units from Europe via Russia to Kazakhstan. We were glad to be able to rely on our strong teams in Germany, Russia, and Kazakhstan.”

From the beginning it was important to proceed strategically, to leave nothing to chance. A multimodal transport concept set the course.

Militzer & Münch first of all gathered the parts from England, the Netherlands and Germany at the port of Rotterdam, from where they were shipped to the port of St. Petersburg. The cargo was stored here, and was then loaded onto 36 trucks and transported to the Bozoi construction site. The components from China were stored in Shanghai before they were loaded into 35 containers and sent to Aktobe, Kazakhstan, via rail. From there, they reached Bozoi by truck.

Road survey reveals challenges

Months before the transport, an M&M Kazakhstan employee traveled to the construction site to draw up a detailed route plan. The report brought some weak points to light. For one: from Saksauls to Bozoi, there is only one unpaved road, which is used exclusively for gas pipeline service purposes. Any other general traffic is completely prohibited. And second, in the Chromtau region in northwestern Kazakhstan, a pipeline crosses the road. The pipeline is too low for the uncustomed goods – which have been loaded onto special Kazakh trucks and trailers in the customs warehouse – to be transported under it and continue the route to Bozoi.

“We decided to route the transport via Shalkar to solve the first problem”, says Michail Underov, Head of Project Logistics at AO Militzer & Münch in Russia. “As this meant we had to go about 400 kilometers across the sandy steppe, we used special Kazakh four-wheel drive tractors with higher loading platform trailers.”

Shortly after passing the pipeline, Militzer & Münch, with the support of the local customs office, transferred the uncustomed goods from low bed trailers to the desert-proof trucks outside the customs warehouse. A bulldozer was carried along, too – in an emergency, it was to dig the trucks out of the sand if they should get stuck.

Teamwork pays off

“The cooperation between the teams was perfect”, says Natalie Andriyevskaya. “It was of big help that we share similar experiences and the same know-how. The perfect coordination of such a huge project across several country organizations is one of the special services that Militzer & Münch offers its customers.”

Once finished, the pipeline will measure 1,475 kilometers in length. The first part was taken into operation already in 2013, the second part followed in 2015. Construction start of the last segment, which includes several compressor stations, was ordered by the Kazakh government in 2017.

 

 

Servicing niche markets

There are countless logistic companies. So, in order to be successful as a medium size logistics provider in China, you need two things: a clear business plan, and a market niche – knows Glenn Bai, Managing Director Militzer & Münch China.

With exports of about 2.26 trillion USD, China was export world champion in 2017. For Militzer & Münch, this upward tendency of Chinese economy offers new opportunities. Due to the constantly growing e-commerce sector, Militzer & Münch transports increasing volumes of goods from China to Central Asia, Russia and Europe. For these traffics, Militzer & Münch also uses the New Silk Road trade lane.

Since taking office in 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been pushing the development of the New Silk Road through his Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China invests up to 1,000 billion USD in the construction and expansion of transcontinental trade and infrastructure networks between Europe, Asia and Africa. President Xi Jinping’s term of office is unlimited, which means continuity for the New Silk Road project among others.

“We are a specialist for transports along the New Silk Road.”

Glenn Bai
Managing Director Militzer & Münch China


Militzer & Münch with a new product on the New Silk Road 

Militzer & Münch benefits from the investments in infrastructure projects, too. In many countries along this trade lane, Militzer & Münch has been operating its own country units for years already. “We are a specialist for transports along the New Silk Road”, says Glenn Bai. “Thus, we organize exports of Chinese industrial plants to Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. We also handle imports from Europe and the USA. To grow, we target niches like project logistics and the aviation industry.”

Militzer & Münch China is constantly extending its product portfolio to meet the customers’ requirements. The latest addition: an LCL consolidation box service via rail from Duisburg to Wuhan. For this freight consolidation or groupage transport, the team bundles and ships smaller consignments as LCL (Less Than Container Load). Militzer & Münch China is the only one in the market to provide this service on this route.

The transport starts from Duisburg every Saturday and is routed via Małaszewicze in Poland and Alashankou in China. Without customs clearance, the transit time is only 18 days. Currently, Militzer & Münch China mainly transports products for the automobile industry to Wuhan. Since the early 1990s, Wuhan has been regarded as a hub for the automotive industry, which accounted for 20 percent of the city’s economic strength in 2015. Yet Militzer & Münch China also wants to expand its new customer business.

Tianjin’s free trade zones offer potential

Strategically selected locations are also part of Militzer & Münch China’s clear cut business plan. The activities of Militzer & Münch in China’s North East, in the port city of Tianjin, are a good example. Here, Militzer & Münch operates the M&M Tianbao joint venture to be able to offer its customers warehousing services via partner Tianbao Logistics.

Tianjin offers numerous advantages to companies. This includes the many different free trade zones, where goods can be imported and exported without customs clearance or any other fees.

“Owing to the free trade zones, many companies from the aviation and automotive industry have settled in Tianjin – they are our potential customers”, says Glenn Bai. “Our customers welcome our strategy to enter into a joint venture in Tianjin and thus be in a position to offer local storage facilities.” From Tianjin, Militzer & Münch for instance delivers spare parts from Europe to Chinese airlines. Moreover, the city is home to China’s seventh biggest sea port. The proximity to the port is ideal for the Chinese team: in 2017, Militzer & Münch China generated 45 percent of its turnover with sea freight.

Glenn Bai
Managing Director Militzer & Münch China


Never losing sight of the clear plan 

With its products, Militzer & Münch China services niches in the market: whether it is the specialization on transports along the New Silk Road or offering the unique LCL consolidation box service via rail from Duisburg to Wuhan. Strategically chosen locations like Tianjin also support the clear plan that aims to offer customers optimal and tailored services. In order to be successful as one among numerous logistics providers, Militzer & Münch China makes use of these niches and of the huge potential of the Chinese market – thus pursuing a clear cut strategy.

Close cooperation for North Africa transports

For a German forwarder who has to handle traffics to North Africa, the cooperation with Militzer & Münch as a long-standing Maghreb specialist is an optimal solution. That holds true for a southwest German forwarder who transports rigid film for a local manufacturer in the pharmaceutical and food industries.

The customer’s order: The palletized goods are to be picked up at the plant, temporarily stored, and then shipped. As Militzer & Münch is well positioned in the Maghreb, the forwarder decided on cooperating with Militzer & Münch on these connections. The Militzer & Münch teams in France deliver the goods to Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.

The cargo is stored at a big warehouse in Breisach, Baden-Württemberg, until it is dispatched. For shipments over five tons, Militzer & Münch picks up the goods directly in Breisach. For cargo up to five tons, the cooperation partner delivers the goods from the warehouse to the Militzer & Münch location in Mulhouse. The French team routes the road transports headed for Morocco or Tunisia with the ro-ro procedure ex Marseille. Transports to Algeria go by sea, also ex Marseille.

Good coordination is essential

Most transports are destined for Tunisia. Since late May, Militzer & Münch France has already delivered seven thermo trailers, six part loads and four full normal trailers to the Maghreb. They also transported six 40 foot containers to Algiers and one 20 foot container to Oran (Algeria). “The project requires close cooperation and exact coordination with the forwarder and his customer”, says Bart Kok, Militzer & Münch Business Development Manager Maghreb. “We have a great cooperation.”

Heavy goods transport to China

Militzer & Münch China transported components of gas turbines for a power station from Antwerp in Belgium to Pingshan in China. The three 130-ton units were shipped, among others, by container vessel and articulated truck. The transport was executed by a team of Militzer & Münch Beijing in March and April.

During the project, there were several hurdles to be taken. First of all, for the loading and unloading of the container vessel, a floating crane had to be used with a capacity of up to several thousand tons. Once loaded, the parts were shipped to China. Owing to their weight and measurements, such components are normally transported via heavy-lift ship.

But due to their long years of experience and good contacts, the Chinese Militzer & Münch team succeeded in getting the cargo transported via container vessel. The transit time is only 35 days and thus much shorter than via heavy-lift ship. Port of discharge was Chiwan in Guangdong Province.

Specialized team

The transport team had to cover the remaining 200 kilometers to Pingshan in Guangdong Province by road. The Militzer & Münch employees obtained the necessary special permits and escort vehicles for the eight to ten-axle articulated trucks and trailers.

It was the first transport the new Militzer & Münch China projects team did for one of the biggest power corporations in China. “The project showed us that we have a very competent team here in Beijing”, says Glenn Bai, Managing Director Militzer & Münch China. “We look forward to further exciting projects of this kind.”

Specialization Militzer & Münch China

  • Individual solutions incl. consultancy on customs clearance and road permit requirements in China
  • Contacts to break-bulk carriers and port authorities
  • Execution of out-of-gauge and heavy-lift cargo shipments
  • Domestic road & barge transports
  • Special equipment

Maghreb – a high potential market

Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco – the Militzer & Münch Group is registering a marked increase in transports to the Maghreb region. In the past two years, the Militzer & Münch road transports from Germany to Morocco doubled, shipments to Tunisia even grew threefold. Customers also show increasing interest in transports from and to Algeria.

Association Agreements are in place between the European Union and Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. Step by step, they are to be expanded and turned into Free Trade Agreements along the lines of a “Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area”. The relations between the EU and the Maghreb states Morocco and Tunisia are particularly close, although the two countries differ a lot in their economic setup:

  • Tunisia is highly industrialized and has good infrastructure. As per gross domestic product, industry is the second most important economic sector. According to the German-Tunisian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the textile and garment industry is the strategically most important industry segment. 83.6 percent of the textiles produced in Tunisia are destined for export.
  • As a business location, Morocco boasts modern infrastructure and low production costs. Especially the automotive industry has grown over the past few years. The development of renewable energy sources is advancing steadily, too.
  • The economy in Algeria relies essentially on the production and export of oil and gas. At this time, the exports from the oil and gas sector account for about 98 percent of the country’s foreign exchange revenue. The government aims at creating more jobs outside this sector.

In 2016 Militzer & Münch opened a new customs terminal in Tanger, Morocco.

The French concept for success

Militzer & Münch started its activities in the Maghreb region already 35 years ago. “Especially the France-Maghreb trade lane is an important pillar of the Militzer & Münch Group”, says Dr. Lothar Thoma, CEO M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding AG. Marseille is the Militzer & Münch Tunisia hub – Bordeaux and Pusignan (Lyon) serve, among others, as trans-loading terminals for Morocco. A substantial share of the Militzer & Münch France transports is routed via the France-Maghreb trade lane. “What our French organization has already implemented successfully, we plan to transfer also to our units in Germany and Switzerland”, says Dr. Lothar Thoma. “With the business development team that was appointed for these two countries in September 2016, we expect good progress for both trade lanes.”

In addition, Militzer & Münch sees high potential for traffics to Algeria. In August 2016, the Algerian government passed a new investment law which offers incentives to foreign investors. Especially customers who are active in plant engineering for the oil and gas industry, more frequently enquire about Militzer & Münch transports. At this time already, goods destined for Algeria are consolidated in Marseille, loaded into containers, and shipped to Algiers regularly. Other direct departures are offered to the Algerian ports of Oran, Bejaia and Skikda.

Eichenzell, the pivotal point

In Germany, the Maghreb transports are mainly handled via the branch office at Eichenzell. Under the direction of Uwe Bierfreund, Branch Manager at Militzer & Münch Stockstadt and Eichenzell, the Eichenzell team controls the operational processes as well as sales activities, and prepares offers. “Compared to the Far East, the proximity of the Maghreb region to Western Europe is a big advantage, especially for the textile and automotive industries”, says Uwe Bierfreund. “We mostly opt for truck transports, but offer our customers air freight and ocean freight solutions as well.” For the most part, Militzer & Münch handles transports for the automotive, machine engineering, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The cargo consists of medical equipment and electronics as well as upstream products for textiles, and finished textile products.

Groupage shipments and larger part loads are mostly transported door-to-door via road. For example, the Eichenzell team consolidates the goods for Morocco by Thursday evening. On Friday, the truck departs for the port of Algeciras. The transport reaches Tangier in the night from Saturday to Sunday. The Tunisia shipments process is similar. From Marseille or Genova to Tunis the goods are transported via ferry. There are additional departures for dangerous goods transports.

“For Militzer & Münch, the Maghreb states are, and will remain, one of our core markets”, says Dr. Lothar Thoma. “With our experienced teams in the Maghreb, Turkey, France, Germany and Switzerland, we will continue to be optimally positioned, to offer individually tailored transport solutions for the different industries.”

Dr. Lothar Thoma
CEO M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding AG

Investing locally

“The goods that are consolidated at Eichenzell for the Maghreb do not come exclusively from Germany, but also from neighboring procurement countries such as Poland or Finland”, Uwe Bierfreund explains. The Militzer & Münch Group continually invested in company-owned infrastructure in the Maghreb over the past years in order to continue offering customers comprehensive services. Among others, Militzer & Münch built a customs terminal in Tangier, Morocco in 2016. With 10,000 square meters, the terminal offers additional warehousing capacity and enables fast customs clearance.

The solid infrastructure and in-depth know-how of the Militzer & Münch units in Tunisia and Morocco are important pillars of strength for the growing business in the Maghreb. “For Militzer & Münch, the Maghreb states are, and will remain, one of our core markets”, says Dr. Lothar Thoma. “With our experienced teams in the Maghreb, Turkey, France, Germany and Switzerland, we will continue to be optimally positioned, to offer individually tailored transport solutions for the different industries.”

Green logistics in Morocco

In November 2016 – on the occasion of the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakesh – Militzer & Münch Morocco was among the cosignatories of the first Moroccan charter for the advancement of ‘green’ logistics. By signing the charter, M&M Morocco voluntarily commits itself to environmental protection and sustainability. The charter was initiated by the state agency for the development of logistics (Agence Marocaine de Développement de la Logistique).
For more information, go to: www.amdl.gov.ma/amdl/accueil/

Militzer & Münch – a strong presence in the Maghreb

In Morocco, Militzer & Münch operates four locations:

Tangiers / Casablanca / Sapino / Tanger Port

There are three Militzer & Münch locations in Tunisia:

Radès (Tunis) / Carthage Airport / Sousse

The exciting Silk Road revival

China is well versed in mammoth projects. What the Chinese accomplished several centuries ago with the Great Wall is to be repeated in a similar way now. A gigantic investment package has been dedicated to the improvement of the transport network between Asia and Europe. Benefiting from the opportunities this entails, Militzer & Münch is developing new locations and road transport services in China and Central Asia. In some of the countries Militzer & Münch has already been operating for over 20 years.

The project to revive the Silk Road runs under the name One Belt, One Road (OBOR). For OBOR, China has set aside more than 100 billion dollars for the coming years. With this initiative – for the Chinese government, part economic and part political strategy – the Silk Road, which goes back to 2,100 years ago, is gaining importance again for today’s global transports. In ancient times, the route was already used for the goods trade between China and Europe. Yet it was not, as the name suggests, just one road strictly speaking, rather than a network of paths, major roads and secondary roads. They traversed countries that today are known as China, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Turkey.

At that time, selling, forwarding and exchanging goods could take several years. Today, goods can be shipped from one continent to the other in just under 15 days. In ancient times, camels were the means of transport for overland transportation. Nowadays, they have been replaced by trucks and trains. An essential component of the OBOR initiative is the development of infrastructure. It comprises railway lines, roads, pipelines and deep sea ports. Moreover, huge industrial complexes are being built along the Silk Road, in China as well as in Central Asia.

In the Central Asian countries and in the Trans-Caucasian region, Militzer & Münch employs a staff of 200 – in China, the number of employees is 100. Militzer & Münch has a strong presence in China with seven operating branch offices, especially the longstanding branch office in Urumqi is an optimal gate for transports to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The company aims at further reinforcing its presence in China and Central Asia as well as intensifying the traffics between the regions.

Bulking up business in China

By appointing new specialists to the management team, Militzer & Münch China took the first step towards expanding business along the New Silk Road. In September 2016 Glenn Bai was appointed Managing Director of the Chinese Militzer & Münch organization. At the beginning of the year, new colleagues were taken on board. Among them, industry experts Eric Wang, Director Rail Freight China, and Philip Wang, Director North China.

To further support the team, Militzer & Münch China hired Trade Lane Sales Manager Anna Boro in February. The focus of the Russian-born expert is set on the development of business between China, Russia and Central Asia along the Silk Road.

A new product has already been realized on the route from China to Central Asia: A container block train connects Xuzhou in Eastern China and the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent. For an industrial project, three transports were handled from China to Uzbekistan in January and February. The block trains carried steel coils in 20-foot -containers. Each transport only took 10 to 12 days from Xuzhou in the Jiangsu Province to Tashkent. On these orders, Militzer & Münch cooperated closely with sister company InterRail. Last year alone, InterRail operated approximately 280 trains from China to Europe along the New Silk Road.

“The One Belt, One Road initiative and the large sums invested in this context, we can expect to see numerous infrastructure projects in and around Central Asia”, says Glenn Bai. “We will take advantage of the opportunities to exploit the full potential of this highly promising market. Therefore we will cooperate with the Militzer & Münch organizations in Central Asia.”

The Silk Road Fund

About a year ago, China, as the world’s second largest economy, founded the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and a Silk Road Fund to boost infrastructure in Asia. China contributed 40 billion US dollars to the Silk Road Fund, and 50 billion to AIIB as seed capital. The other member nations also increased the financial means of the bank. Germany for instance contributed 4.5 billion US dollars.

Countries and projects

Militzer & Münch is one of the leading transport and forwarding service providers in Central Asia with locations in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. On February 1, Militzer & Münch set up a presence in Azerbaijan, too: A two-man delegation now handles local business. The market has good potential, mainly in standard transport business.

In Tajikistan, Militzer & Münch recently won two big projects. One is a long-term contract that comprises the delivery of the merchandise for a bed and furniture chain with six or more truckloads per month. In the initial phase in December and January, Militzer & Münch Tajikistan handled 17 road transports from Poland to Tajikistan.

The second project is for a hydropower station for which Militzer & Münch transports components. The water power dam is being built on the River Vakhsh that crosses Tajikistan from North to Southwest – it constitutes an important energy source for the country. Militzer & Münch will transport about 180 to 200 truckloads to Tajikistan, 30 of which with an over height of 3.4 meters (cf. “News in brief” in the PROJECTS section.)

In Kazakhstan, the economic situation is turning back to normal after the devaluation of the Kazakh tenge. “The market has become stable again and Militzer & Münch profits from the fact that transports are slowly increasing”, says Nikolaus Kohler, Regional Managing Director Middle East / Central Asia. “We feel optimistic that, especially after the World’s Fair Expo 2017 in Kazakhstan, project business will gather speed again.” In view of big Chinese e-commerce companies, which also count the inhabitants of Kazakhstan among their customers, the B2B business sector is growing. With its own CEP service in Kazakhstan, Militzer & Münch is optimally positioned for a growing number of shipments in this segment.

The logistics industry looks to Uzbekistan with optimism, too. Although owing to currency regulations, so far there has been scarcely any security for foreign investors. One can assume that new paths are opening up for the country under the leadership of the new President who was voted into office in December 2016. “Our hope is for the currently existing capital constraints to be relaxed step by step, which again would pave the way for investments”, says Nikolaus Kohler.

Overland transports save time and money

The Chinese government has already convinced more than 60 countries of its OBOR project. The overland route boasts two clear advantages over sea and air transport: Shipments by train take about 20 days less than by vessel and are much cheaper than by plane.

While precious fabrics, porcelain and oriental spices were transported along the old Silk Road, the New Silk Road is meant for the transport of electronics, branded products, automotive parts, textiles and many more goods. At this time, there are ten departures a week for the full container loads that Militzer & Münch and InterRail are transporting via rail from China to Europe and vice versa.

Projects along the Silk Road

  • Azerbaijan: A natural gas pipeline is to run from Azerbaijan through Turkey to Europe. The 2,000 kilometer pipeline, planned by the “Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) Project”, is under construction.
  • Tajikistan: The improvement of the border road from Dushanbe in Tajikistan to Uzbekistan is under way.
  • Pakistan: To improve the connection between Central Asia and the ports of Gwadar and Karachi, the Shorkot-Khanewal motorway section is being completed to become a four-lane wide and 64-kilometer long road. The project is to help guarantee efficiency and safety in the transport corridor.

InterRail – business prospects

InterRail – a company specialized in rail freight and a Militzer & Münch sister company under the umbrella of the TransInvest Group – has defined three important trade routes for its business activities:

  • Along the East-West axis, InterRail aims to become one of the most successful booking agents.
  • Along the so-called “Old Silk Road”, the China-Central Asia-corridor, the pioneer test trains are to be expanded into regular train connections.
  • The same goes for the North-South corridor, where additionally, regular block train traffics are to be set up.

InterRail added diverse new products and routes to its portfolio, especially during the past 24 months. They include open trains to be loaded with single containers or container groups, but also LCL traffics from China to Europe and special wagon transports between Russia and Central Asia. In terms of geography, InterRail introduced new train connections, for instance from China to Afghanistan, the CIS, Latvia and recently also to the United Kingdom.