
Logistics costs are rising - myth or reality?
Reading time: 5 minutes
Rising delivery costs, driven by growing demand for freight, are sparking arguments and debate - we've felt the pain of the fuel crisis ourselves.
So why have cargo rates and the cost of official freight stayed the same? (For MATE, anyway.)
What's being written about it
To start, here are a couple of interesting articles:
- RBC on the outlook for price growth
- Forbes.ru on the economics of logistics
- Lenta on the reasons behind rising logistics prices
What's interesting is that right from the start of the fuel crisis our logistics team told us straight away that delivery wasn't going to get more expensive. Cargo shipping is one thing - let's look at rates for compliant import instead.
Our rates for compliant import
Our main logistics routes run through Moscow, or directly to the client's address via Kazakhstan and the Far East. At the start of 2026, the rate range per volume of cargo was $130-350/m3.
The most recent orders were booked at $328/m3, $205/m3, $280/m3...
According to our logistics team, the reports of fuel shortages and rising prices forecast for Russia apply to gasoline-powered transport. Our logistics partners' main fleet runs on diesel, and they haven't hit any shortage of that. The price range in logistics is offset by higher demand for consolidated loads, and by a few other secrets they haven't shared with us..
For consultations and proposals, our managers are here - Ada and Rail