China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has announced that as of February 20 railway freight charges in China have increased by RMB 0.015/mt/km ($0.0024/mt/km) to RMB 0.1301/mt/km ($0.0207/mt/km), rising by 13 percent and constituting the largest rise among the 10 increases made since 2000. Accordingly, China’s overall railway transportation revenues in the current year are expected to rise by RMB 30 billion ($4.78 billion), based on estimates for tonnages and distances. It is thought that the increased transportation costs will have a knock-on impact on prices of commodities.
