Ships from Asia to Europe have recently undergone some new changes. Some shipping companies have cancelled multiple voyages, some have added new services, and more and more bulk cargo ships are carrying containerized cargo.
According to reports, HMM will put in an additional 5000 TEU cargo ship on the European route from Busan to Hamburg at the end of this month to meet the shipper’s cargo delivery requirements.
In addition, the shipping company China United Shipping (CU Lines) announced its first direct European route, maiden voyage on February 6, will provide independent services to the Nordic region and deploy a series of small feeder ships.
▍The 2M Alliance will cancel several Nordic voyages in the next week or two
The shipping company will cancel multiple flights to Northern Europe during the Spring Festival next month. This is a blow to the troubled cargo owners because they have paid a huge price to secure space in the voyage.
2M alliance partners Maersk and MSC plan to cancel three public voyages from Asia to Northern Europe in the 5th-7th week. One of the ships will be allowed to be postponed until next week, and the existing reservations will be kept. Ocean Alliance member CMA CGM will also skip three loops in the same period.
MSC said, “Due to the slowdown in demand during the Spring Festival and the severe congestion in the entire supply chain, it is necessary to take measures to cancel sailing.”
Maersk advises its customers that in order to cope with severe port congestion and container restrictions, it is necessary to use suspension to improve the reliability of shipping schedules, so as to release these services to restore planned shipping schedule measures.
Suspended voyages: Maersk Herrera on the AE55/Griffin loop scheduled to depart from Shanghai on February 11; Maersk Enshi (AE6/Lion) scheduled to leave Busan on February 13; and departure from Ningbo on February 15 Estelle Maersk (AE7 / Condor).
A shipping company source said that he believes that 2M is more about slowing down the overheated supply chain and alleviating the pressure of congestion in the Nordic containers and ports.
"I can only represent our ships. During the Spring Festival, they are all fully booked." The source said, "In addition, too much cargo has been dumped recently. This cannot be a problem of reduced demand, so I guess , They want to restore a certain timetable by cutting voyages."
Indeed, Simon Sundboell, the founder of the liner database eeSea, said that the reliability of this route is worse than what we have seen in a long time.
He added: "These suspensions are necessary and restoration measures need to be arranged. They are not meant to consume capacity."
At the same time, according to the latest investigation by Container xChange, the serious container shortage crisis is alleviating. Although the container availability index (CAx) in December hit a record low, Shanghai has improved significantly this month.
"In January, the availability of 40-foot-high cubic containers increased by 37.5%, while the standard 40-foot-cubic container even increased to 200%. CAx showed a positive trend for shippers and freight forwarders looking for containers in Shanghai. With the increase in container availability Significant increase and Shanghai is returning to normal levels.” said David Amezquita, head of data insights, adding that similar situations have occurred in other major hubs in China.
▍The empty container release time will be extended from 7 days to 10 days
It is reported that Hapag-Lloyd will take temporary measures in order to optimize the supply of containers and meet customer needs during the upcoming Spring Festival. From now on, the empty container release window in Mainland China will be extended from the current 7 days to 10 days.
The empty container pick-up time at all Chinese ports has been adjusted from 7 days before the estimated sailing date to 10 days, which will take effect from now until January 31, 2021.
From February 1, 2021, it will be further extended to 14 days before the estimated sailing schedule until further notice.
The specific box types at the following special locations will be kept for 10 days and are subject to change without notice.
Shenzhen: 20' Dry
Ningbo: 40' Dry, 40'HC
Shanghai: 40' Dry, 40'HC
▍More and more containerized goods are cancelled and switched to other types of ships
Chartering expert Ahlers said that the rebound in bulk cargo transportation will bring benefits to secondary ports and short sea shipping. The company said: "New opportunities for bulk carriers, multi-purpose ships and ro-ro ships are emerging."
According to reports, last week, freight forwarders increasingly wanted to use multi-purpose ships to avoid a series of delays and cost issues, which disrupted Asia-Europe container trade-in some cases, they gave up boxes, and I chose bulk groceries.
In addition, the de-containerization trend seems to be gaining momentum on intra-Asia routes. On some routes, bulk commodity shippers accustomed to the lowest freight rates suddenly face bills much higher than in previous years.
Ahlers said that in Southeast Asia, cargo that has been shipped in containers for decades is now being transferred to bulk carriers.
Chartering business manager Senthil Nayagam said: “Due to the shortage of containers and high freight rates, goods such as sawn wood and plywood are turning to bulk general cargo ships.”
He said, for example, the cost of exporting plywood from Malaysia to Colombo has increased from US$400/TEU to US$1,025. “Therefore traders hope to transport them in bulk in the next three to four months until the situation improves. "
Another example is the shipment of goods from China to Russia. Mr. Nayagam said that Ahlers' original plan to reach St. Petersburg or use maritime rail services had to be cancelled and switched to other ports and offshore services.
He added: “Freight forwarders are forced to find unconventional options, such as transporting goods to a triple container terminal, and then looking for different short-sea solutions, trying to use smaller coastal bulk cargo vessels to transport the goods to the final destination. Land."
For many industries, transportation costs are not the only consideration in determining mode switching.
Mr. Nayagam said: “Inventory costs, potential fines related to late delivery, and factories' urgent need for raw materials to keep them running are all factors. For example, summer fashion needs to be listed in stores in time.”
"We believe that the container market situation will return to normal again, but it is not yet certain when it will return to normal. At the same time, we will continue to see more and more'traditional container' cargo shifted to other modes of transportation, including bulk cargo."
