Russia’s container market up 6.8% in first nine months of 2026

According to calculations by analysts at Delo Group, container traffic in Russia totaled 5.7 million TEU in January–September 2026. That was 6.8% more than in the same period of 2025, and 0.7% above the record 2024 level. In September, traffic amounted to 618,000 TEU, up 5.1% year on year.

Import provided the main growth. Significant dynamics were recorded in traffic through ports and railway border crossings in the Far East, as well as through Kazakhstan border crossings, where import volume rose 33% to 1.5 million TEU, or 67% of the country’s total container import. Market growth was also supported by the development of cabotage services on the St Petersburg–Kaliningrad route.

Transit traffic through Russian territory increased 8.2% to 0.7 million TEU. Container exports fell 3.7% to 1.4 million TEU; the publication links this to the strong ruble and the high base effect of 2025. The calculation methodology covers loaded container traffic in foreign trade through Russian ports and land border crossings, as well as transit and domestic rail and sea transport.