Purpose. The purpose of the article is to analyze current trends in the development of container transportation in the world and in Ukraine, in particular in railway transport. Methodology. Analysis of official statistical data from domestic and international analytical institutions in order to build forecast models regarding the prospects for the development of container transportation volumes in the world and in Ukraine, as well as to identify potential areas for further research into relevant cargo flows. Results. Container transportation is a key logistical element of global foreign economic relations. World trade in containers has been showing steady growth since the mid-20th century. According to forecasts, by 2030, the volume of container operations in seaports will increase by almost 14% compared to 2019, reaching approximately USD 92 billion. Based on data for 2018-2024, a linear regression model was constructed, which indicates a stable positive dynamics of container transportation volumes by sea with an average annual growth of about 2 million TEU. Global container flows are distributed extremely unevenly: the main share falls on the East-West direction, that is, between the countries of Southeast Asia and the developed countries of the West. At the same time, there is a gradual increase in the volume of transportation in the South-South direction, between developing countries. In the global structure, the Ukrainian railway container transportation market occupies a small share, which is explained, in particular, by the consequences of the full-scale war in Ukraine. In 2023-2025, the vast majority of containers were transported by Ukrainian railways in domestic traffic. About 35% of containers are transported empty. The largest share of loaded containers is made up of grain, leguminous and oilseed crops, as well as ferrous metals and sunflower oil. The largest number of wagons with containers depart from port and border railway stations. In domestic traffic, the stations of Pryluky, Ternopil, Myrhorod, Zaporizhzhia-Live, as well as the railway hubs of Kyiv are most intensively operating. Among the main problems for a more intensive development of container railway transportation in Ukraine are the full-scale war, as well as the lack of developed terminal infrastructure, especially in the internal regions and on the western border. Originality. The article considers current trends and problems of the container transportation market in the world and in Ukraine, in particular during the period of full-scale Russian aggression. A predictive regression model for the volumes of the world container market is obtained. An analysis of the volumes of container transportation by Ukrainian railways by cargo nomenclature and departure stations is presented. Practical value. The results obtained allow us to proceed to the stage of modeling promising container flows and forming correspondences for research and evaluation of various technologies for organizing the transportation process.
Вернигора et al. (Mon,) studied this question.