German logistics service provider Rhenus has acquired its first rail-connected terminal in Kazakhstan. The facility, located just north of Almaty, handles block trains and offers container depot services and bonded storage solutions. A welcome increase in capacity, but there’s more behind the acquisition.
At first sight, it is nothing ‘out of the ordinary’ – a terminal takeover. Developments like these take place once every so often. Yet, interestingly, this is not Rhenus’ first endeavour in Central Asia in the past year. In 2025, the company established a rail terminal in Kazakhstan’s southern neighbour Uzbekistan, together with Uzbek Railways.
A good reason to inquire more about the company’s motivations, RailFreight.com thought, but let’s start with some of the basics: Rhenus Group has acquired a rail-connected container terminal in the south of Kazakhstan, setting it up for further development of integrated logistics services in the region, according to the logistics provider.
The ‘QAZContargo’ terminal is connected to national and international routes, among which is the Middle Corridor, connecting Asia and Europe overland. As such, the facility supports the growing import, export and transit volumes between China, Europe and across Central Asia. Rhenus hopes that the combination of its existing freight forwarding services and terminal infrastructure will strengthen its activities and supply chains in the region.
“Diversification rather than decoupling”
The acquisition of the QAZContargo terminal, however, is also informed by our rapidly changing world. Geopolitics is not leaving Central Asia untouched, and neither are rising logistics and compliance costs, Rhenus tells RailFreight.com. Together with a need for greater flexibility and responsiveness to customer demand, they are leading to a regionalisation of supply chains across Eurasia.
“Rather than retreating from global trade, companies are reconfiguring their networks to reduce dependency on single routes or gateways and to position logistics capabilities closer to key markets”, elaborates Rhenus. For Asia-Europe trade, the company sees diversification rather than decoupling. “China remains central, while Southeast Asia, India, and Türkiye are gaining importance as complementary hubs.” Moreover, inland rail corridors across Eurasia are becoming key enablers of resilient and adaptive supply-chain networks, in the words of the German logistics provider.
The result: inland capacity and multimodal corridors are growing in strategic importance. Rhenus’ recent moves are a response to that development. It points out that terminal infrastructure is a bottleneck across Eurasia: Terminals struggle to keep up with the growing trade volumes. The German company does not expect Eurasian terminals to close the gap in the coming decade.
This situation presents both a challenge and a clear opportunity
These capacity constraints are compounded by the growing demand of customers. As shippers expect predictability and transparency, Rhenus seems to move into the region to take matters into their own hands. It says that modern terminals need to offer real-time visibility, flexible capacity management and offer consolidation, customs and distribution services.
“For Rhenus, this situation presents both a challenge and a clear opportunity. Beyond traditional forwarding activities, the focus lies on expanding handling capacity at key logistics and economic hubs, strengthening intermodal integration, and improving last-mile connectivity. These investments are fully aligned with customer demand for faster, more reliable, and more cost-efficient transport solutions across Eurasia”, the company explains.
Containerisation: one of the factors behind the Rhenus acquisition
At the same time, the increasing rate of containerisation in Central Asia has also pushed Rhenus to acquire the QAZContargo terminal. Containerisation in the region is still at an early stage: adoption sits around 6-8% depending on the market and research methodology. That is well behind Europe and East Asia, says Rhenus. It also reflects the high share of bulk commodities, historically wagon-based rail systems and limited inland terminal infrastructure. Unsurprisingly, containers are mostly used on China-Europe routes.
Nevertheless, there is a clear demand for a further adoption of containers as a standardised carrying unit. Rhenus considers that a strategic shift in how supply chains are designed and managed. “Containers enable greater reliability, improved cargo security, faster transshipment, and seamless intermodal connectivity across rail, road, and sea.”
“To scale these benefits sustainably, modern intermodal terminals are essential. In this sense, the growing importance of container-based transport was one of the factors behind the decision to acquire and further develop this terminal in Kazakhstan”, Rhenus says.
Developing consumer market
It is primarily retailers and e-commerce companies in the Almaty area that currently make use of Rhenus’ new terminal and that might benefit from its integrated intermodal services. However, there is not a single large industry that dominates. The container terminal also handles industrial and manufacturing goods, automotive components and chemical and energy-related products.
Yet, with Kazakhstan’s developing consumer market and industrial base, more of these goods are transported in containers and via scheduled rail services. “The terminal is therefore designed to serve a diversified customer base across multiple industries”, says Rhenus.