The role of turnover in ensuring grain transportation

In the 1st half of 2021, the fleet of grain hoppers in Kazakhstan was replenished with almost 700 new wagons. In addition, the presence of CIS fleet in Kazakhstan has increased by more than 2 times. This fact shows dynamically developing market of grain cargo transportation in Kazakhstan.
However, despite the actual increase in the fleet, neither customers nor freight forwarders noticed a seasonal surplus of the fleet.
Unfortunately, the increase in the fleet is offset by an increase in the turnover of cars. The increase in the turnover time of wagons leads to the need to maintain a large number of fleet for transportation of the same volume of grain. And each additional wagon requires additional costs for repair and maintenance.
So, if in the 1st quarter of last year the average turnover of grain wagons was 21.98 days, then in 2021 it was 32.34 days, an increase of 38%. In the second quarter of 2020, the turnover decreased and became 20.71 days, and in 2021, the turnover increased to 33.41 days, compared to last year, the growth was 58%! In fact, this means that 1.58 times more fleet is required for transportation.
A significant role in the increase in turnover was played by non-acceptance of cars by the People’s Republic of China, where the turnover for the 1st half of 2021 amounted to almost 123 days, but other directions also show a significant increase. So, the turnover for domestic transportation increased by 33%, and this is during the seasonal decline in grain cargo transportation, when the elevators are not working at full capacity.
In addition, in 2020, due to the pandemic, almost no planned infrastructure repairs were carried out. Therefore, in 2021, repair activities for 2 years are actively carried out in the 2nd quarter, which leads to traffic restrictions on certain sections of the railway, the so-called «windows».
The increase in turnover is also due to abandoned cars, when loaded cars on the route are left behind due to waiting for locomotives and the release of infrastructure. So, in the 1st quarter of 2021, the average daily number of abandoned cars increased by 31% compared to the same period last year, and in the 2nd quarter by 75%.
The routing of grain transportation, namely «Astyk Trans-Express», had a positive impact on the reduction of turnover. Routing allows not only to save on transportation, but also to get the opportunity to deliver the cargo faster, which means that it is faster to «complete» the transaction, which is an important factor in modern «pandemic» conditions of uncertainty.
On the eve of the new harvest, through the joint efforts of traders and freight forwarders, it is necessary to continue systematic work to improve turnover, reduce downtime for loading and unloading, increase route shipments, as well as preliminary planning of transportation, which will prevent a shortage of wagons.