(Yicai) May 23 -- The cost of sending goods by the China-Europe Railway Express, a major international freight train service, has climbed by as much as 20 percent in a month, driven by rising shipping prices resulting from attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea.

Freight volumes on the line to Europe have been picking up lately, and most service providers adjusted their rates last week, Tang Tingting, assistant general manager of Sichuan-based freight forwarder New Silk Road Intermodal, told Yicai.

Routes to Europe from Suzhou in China’s Jiangsu province and Zhengzhou in Henan province jumped by 10 percent to 20 percent from a month earlier, Tang said, adding that those from southern China to the two German cities of Hamburg and Duisburg exceeded USD9,000.

Moreover, rates on Russia-bound routes are also up by about 10 percent, mainly because container leasing prices have surged by USD400 to USD600, he added.

Fees are rising mainly as a result of higher shipping costs because of the Red Sea crisis, according to Hao Panfeng, deputy secretary-general of the China Container Industry Association.

The crisis started last October when Yemen’s Houthi group began attacking ships in the Red Sea, affecting global trade in Africa, Asia, and Europe, after the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out.

The situation has forced many shipping companies to bypass the region, driving up freight and container leasing costs as well as lengthening shipping times, Hao said. Amid rising sea freight prices and container shortages, many shippers have turned to the China-Europe Railway Express, he said, adding that rates have been on the rise since March.

Demand has jumped as some cargo owners shift to rail transport to save time, Tang said, adding that New Silk Road Intermodal has received inquiries, especially for time-sensitive orders. It generally takes more than 60 days to deliver goods from China to Europe if the Red Sea route is bypassed.

European demand for Chinese products has rebounded, but not as much as freight rates suggest, Tang said, adding that fees could drop quickly when the Red Sea crisis shows signs of ending. The duration of the crisis will determine whether higher fees are a short-term or a long-term phenomenon, Hao said.

The China-Europe Railway Express dispatched more than 6,180 trains in the first four months of this year, up 10 percent from a year earlier, and delivered 675,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo, up 11 percent, China State Railway Group revealed on May 15. As of April 30, the line had logged more than 89,000 trips in total, reaching 223 cities in 25 European countries.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine