/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

Container freight rates trends

The spot freight rates for containers from Asia to Europe and from Asia to the United States fell further from record highs last week. However, it is expected to remain high for a period of time.

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

There has been a sharp drop during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, but the rate is expected to remain high

Jeremy Nixon, CEO of Japanese liner company Ocean Network Express (ONE), believes that the freight market will not stabilize before the middle of this year.

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

The Lowe's Daily said that in the absence of a sharp decline in traditional freight volumes after the Chinese New Year, the spot freight rates for Asia-Europe and Trans-Pacific trade are still at historical highs; the spot exchange rate flexibility during the Spring Festival shows that the factors that support price increases are still Need to be alleviated. Cargo backlogs, port congestion, equipment shortages and continued high throughput mean shippers are still being charged premiums on the main trade routes.

The Drewry Composite Index shows that although it has fallen 2.2% in the past week, it is still 232.6% higher than a year ago. The year-to-date WCI average composite index assessed by Drewry is US$5,231 per 40-foot container, which is US$3539 higher than the five-year average of US$1,692 per 40-foot container.

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

The Drewry Composite Container Index fell 2.2% (US$117) to US$5121.04 per 40-foot container.

The freight from Shanghai to Rotterdam dropped by US$286, reaching US$8188/FEU;

The freight from Shanghai to Los Angeles dropped by 130 USD, reaching 4,261 USD/FEU;

The freight rate of the 40-foot container from Shanghai to Genoa fell by US$106 to US$8,505;

The freight from Shanghai to New York rose by 23 dollars to reach 6,651 dollars/FEU.

Drewry expects rates to stabilize relatively this week.

The Ningbo Export Container Freight Index (NCFI) released by the Ningbo Shipping Exchange closed at 2152.91 points, down 4.1% from 2245.32 points last week. Among the 21 routes, the freight index of 5 routes increased, and the freight index of 16 routes decreased. Among the major ports along the "Maritime Silk Road", the freight index of 17 ports fell.

The freight rate of the European-German route dropped as a whole, 3.9% lower than the previous week's European route; the eastern route dropped 4.2%; and the western route dropped 4.9%. While the North American route remained high, the US East route rose 2.5% from last week; the US West route rose 0.2% from last week.

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

European-German route: In view of the fact that the transportation demand is still recovering after the holiday, the goods hoarded before the holiday have basically been shipped, and the booking price of the European-German route has dropped overall. According to Freightos' recent Baltic Index (FBX), the price of 40-foot containers from Asia to Northern Europe fell 4% a week to US$8004; according to FBX data, in the Far East to Europe transaction, the spot freight rate was as high as US$8,306. /FEU, but fell by US$432 over the weekend to US$7,874/FEU (daily index).

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

But for Mediterranean ports , the average price dropped by only US$37 last week to US$7,926 per 40 feet.

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high



Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

Moreover, many shippers are still obliged to pay additional fees to ensure the availability of containers, and for British ports, a "port fee" of US$2,000 is usually added. A year ago, the FBX index showed that the freight rates per 40 feet in the Nordic and Mediterranean regions were US$1,533 and US$2,130 respectively.

Lory Cheung, an overseas marketing expert at China-based MRF International Forwarding, said that shipping companies must “do everything they can to seize every opportunity” because the shipping market will eventually return to normal. He pointed out: "At present, carriers seem to be more willing to sign long-term contracts with BCO rather than freight forwarders," which shows that shipping companies are working hard to lock the contract price at the highest possible level to avoid the impact of spot market fluctuations.

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

In fact, the high inflation rate in current transactions is forcing shippers to cancel orders for low-value products. A British non-vessel carrier (NVOCC) stated that he has noticed that a garden furniture importer’s bookings from China have dropped by a third this year.

North American routes: The market's freight volume has recovered faster than in previous years, and the route's loading rate remains high. According to the Freeghtos Baltic Index, since the end of February, freight rates outside of Asia have decreased, and the spot freight rate for Pacific Eastbound transactions has dropped from a high of US$4922/FEU on February 26 to US$4197 on March 4. /FEU. However, by March 5, the spot freight rate soared again to US$4,709/FEU. At the same time, in the Trans-Pacific region, the West Coast portion of FBX in the United States fell 11% last week to $4,369 per 40 feet. Freightos expects this decline to be temporary, given the strong demand for trade.

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

The FBX index for US East Coast ports fell 3% to $5659/FEU.

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

Freightos research director Judah Levine said: "Although the rates are falling, they may remain very high for a period of time." "As the US retail inventory level is still very low, it may take until the end of this year to restore normal inventory."

According to the latest data from the signal platform of the Port of Los Angeles, the volume of inbound containers this week reached 175,300 TEU, an increase of 505.56% over the same period last year. There are 17 container ships berthing at anchorages, and 10 container ships waiting to be anchored outside the port, with an average waiting time of 7.5 days.

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

Container freight rates have fallen sharply for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, but are expected to remain high

Last week, even if the freight rates of the two major trade routes from China to the United States and Europe fell, at least 35 to 40 ships were anchored on the west coast of the United States due to congestion in US ports continuing to spread to ports outside North America. More than twenty container ships waited for two weeks to berth. These container ships were loaded with exercise bikes, electronics and other highly sought-after imported goods. Los Angeles Port Director Gene Seroka said at a recent board meeting: "The backlog is expected to continue until midsummer."

Congestion in Southern California, dozens of container ships waiting to berth

Jon Monroe of Worldwide Logistics said that the traffic congestion in the Los Angeles/Long Beach area was mainly caused by the layoff of more than 700 skilled dock workers due to Covid-19 infection. "Due to the complexity of the operating models of multiple terminals in Southern California ports, this situation is more difficult to resolve quickly. Of course, in addition to this, 45% to 50% of imported goods in the United States are transported through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach." He added , The shipping terminal has insufficient storage space, the truck queue at the terminal is also very long, and the chassis continues to be short.

At the same time, Jon Monroe of Jon Monroe Consulting in Washington State suggested that there is evidence that the strong momentum of trade may be maintained until the Chinese New Year in 2022.

The market is unprecedentedly strong, which is bad news for shippers who are struggling to sign new annual contracts from Asia to the United States. "Many people I have spoken to have stated that this will be a fast negotiation," Jon Monroe said. "The question this year is more about'how to ship the product?' rather than'how much is the cost?'"

At present, there is a 40% unbalanced gap in containers in North America. This means that for every 10 containers that arrive, only 4 return, and 6 remain at the arrival port. The average monthly trade between China and the United States is 900,000 TEU, and there is indeed a huge absolute imbalance in containers. In addition, according to the data of consulting company Descartes Datamyne, the current shipment volume is at the highest level in history. In the first quarter of this year, sales increased by 23.3% over the same period last year.

The container shipping crisis has affected various business areas in different ways. For example, the transportation of high-value commodities such as mechanical engineering products, electronic products and computer equipment will be less affected. But for other types of goods, especially the textile industry in Asia, the increase in transportation costs has brought more serious consequences. Exporters claim that the sharp increase in freight rates has led to the closure of many low-profit textile mills. Delays and container shortages are pushing up freight rates. In Asia, delivery delays can be up to several weeks, forcing many companies to negotiate price increases with buyers.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

Congestion in West America worsens!

Aerial photography of Southern California full of container ships! Terminal operators expect to get rid of the dilemma by the end of spring

Recently, a cold wave swept the United States and quickly plunged the southern state of Texas into disaster. In this unprecedented cold wave, more than 4 million people in the United States have suffered power outages, countless power plants have been destroyed, and electricity and natural gas prices have skyrocketed. ; At present, the price of electricity in Texas has increased by more than 100 times, up to 9,000 US dollars per megawatt, and the price of natural gas has skyrocketed by more than 160 times, reaching US$500, compared with only US$3 in the past; it is jaw-dropping.

Except for Texas, which is in a serious disaster, other states in the United States are not doing well. There are about 168 million people in the United States under the threat of this cold wave. Numerous airports have been suspended. According to data from the flight monitoring website "flightaware", Dallas and Houston , Austin area airports have cancelled more than 2,000 inbound and outbound flights on the 15th . Coupled with the new crown pneumonia crisis that is still raging across the United States, the United States is really miserable.

In terms of shipping, the Southern California anchorage is full of container ships, and the congestion continues to worsen ! The latest video released by the U.S. Coast Guard provides intuitive evidence of the congestion levels in Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. From the picture, a large number of container ships are moored at the anchorage in San Pedro Bay, California.

 

Congestion in West America worsens! Aerial photography of Southern California full of container ships! Terminal operators expect to get rid of the dilemma by the end of spring
U.S. Coast Guard aerial scene

Data shows that the historic container ship congestion in California ports has not really eased. There are currently 63 container ships in Los Angeles and Long Beach, and 32 container ships are waiting for berths at anchorages. (On February 1st, the highest record of 40 container ships anchored at anchorage)

The Port of Los Angeles announced the number of berth days for a particular container ship through its Signal platform last week. Data shows that some ships stay at anchorage and wait for almost as long as they sail across the Pacific Ocean . For example, as of last Thursday, the 6332TEU container ship "Ever Envoy" has been parked for 11 days. As of Tuesday, the 9,400TEU "MSC Romane" has been parked for 12 days. And the three container ships of 11356TEU "CMA CGM Andromeda", 8452 TEU "Ever Liven" and 4888TEU "NYK Nebula" also berthed for 11 days as of last week.

 

Congestion in West America worsens! Aerial photography of Southern California full of container ships! Terminal operators expect to get rid of the dilemma by the end of spring

 

 

As of the end of 2020, the number of container ships at anchor has increased to 30; since then, it has remained between 20 and 40. At the same time, the number of vessels at berths in Los Angeles and Long Beach remained at around 20 and 30. Kip Louttit, executive director of the Southern California Shipping Exchange, said: "We seem to have adapted to the new normal of about 30 container ships waiting in line every day. I don't know if this situation will continue."

As of Tuesday, the average time for ships docking in Los Angeles was 8 days , up from 7.3 days at the beginning of last week. From the information on the waiting time of ships provided by the platform from January 27th, the waiting time for ships to berth has been maintained for about one week, and the data for the last two periods has been extended to 8 days.

 

Congestion in West America worsens! Aerial photography of Southern California full of container ships! Terminal operators expect to get rid of the dilemma by the end of spring

 

 

　　The latest data from the Signal platform: 20 ships at anchor, with an average anchoring time of 8.0 days. There are 14 ships waiting to be pre-anchored.

 

Congestion in West America worsens! Aerial photography of Southern California full of container ships! Terminal operators expect to get rid of the dilemma by the end of spring

 

 

What caused the blockage? The extended berthing time of ships forced some shipping companies to cancel multiple voyages this month. This is not due to lack of cargo demand, but due to lack of available vessels to handle these services. Delays on land have also caused congestion at sea: extremely high inbound volumes and complex logistics inside and outside the port have caused delays on land. One of the challenges facing the port is the new crown virus infection of dockers and a serious shortage of labor.

Despite productivity gains last month, terminal operators at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach said the ports may have to wait until the end of spring to get rid of the ship backlog and congestion that have plagued them in the past six months . The near-record number of containers will continue into the spring of this year, but the backlog of ships at the port and the fully loaded inbound containers at the terminal should disappear sometime between April and June.

The managers of SSA Marine, Yusen Terminals and Fenix ​​Marine stated that in order to alleviate the congestion in the port, two projects to be developed are necessary. First, the COVID-19 vaccine must be widely distributed among dock workers to alleviate the recent labor shortage. During the Lunar New Year holiday this month, container traffic has declined moderately, which should also enable shipping terminals to remove the backlog of fully loaded imported containers from their facilities.

"The terminals are full and there is no place to put these containers. We deliver 35% less cargo (to truck drivers) than usual," said Ed Dannick, president of SSA Containers.

 

Congestion in West America worsens! Aerial photography of Southern California full of container ships! Terminal operators expect to get rid of the dilemma by the end of spring

 

 

According to data from the HarborTrucking Association, the average truck stay at the terminal in January improved from 93 minutes in December to 88 minutes, but it was still much higher than the record low of 58 minutes in June. Imports peaked during the recovery period after the first wave of COVID-19 lockdown.

The backlog of ships in Long Beach, Los Angeles, is increasing unabated. According to statistics from the Marine Exchange of Southern California, there are currently 63 container ships in the Port of Long Beach in Los Angeles, of which 32 are at anchor waiting for berths and 31 are at berths.

 

Congestion in West America worsens! Aerial photography of Southern California full of container ships! Terminal operators expect to get rid of the dilemma by the end of spring

 

 

The latest data released by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA) shows that in December last year, the average container stay time at the 12 terminals of the Port of Long Beach in Los Angeles was 4.99 days. This is twice the average length of stay (approximately 2.5 days) recorded by PMSA in the first half of 2020.

“The longer the container stays at the terminal, the more serious the congestion will be. When the container piles up like a mountain, the congestion creates additional and inefficient handling requirements,” said PMSA’s government affairs manager jessicaalvarenga.

The new crown epidemic hits labor in the port

According to the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), the West Coast port employers' Association and the International Terminal and Warehouse Union (ILWU), the new crown epidemic has severely affected the labor force along the Los Angeles-Long Beach Port. As of January 17, The International Terminal and Warehouse Union (ILWU) reported that 694 of its members tested positive. By January 25, this number jumped to 803.

PMA stated that there is a particular shortage of skilled equipment operators, who need to remove containers from trucks, and then move them into and out of the container yard, which is critical to the operation of the terminal. As a result, the joint committee of PMA and ILWU, which is responsible for allocating workers to the docks on a daily basis, cut the allocation share.

"It boils down to the labor issue at the terminal," said Scott Weiss, vice president of business development at Port Logistics Group, which has a large number of truck and warehouse operations throughout Southern California. "Containers still have bottlenecks in and out of the terminal."

The latest information released by the Signal platform of the Port of Los Angeles shows that due to the new crown epidemic, the productivity of coastal labor has decreased, which has caused ship delays and the average delay of port facilities is 8.0 days .

These ports are working with trans-Pacific shipping companies to reduce Southern California's load until the volume returns to normal. Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said that he is working with shipping companies and terminal operators to "measure" imports until the port catches up. Hapag-Lloyd (Hapag-Lloyd) has announced the opening of a structured route to Southern California in February, and CMA CGM will remove Los Angeles from the trans-Pacific route and use Oakland as the first port of call from Asia. , Followed by Seattle-Tacoma.

 

Congestion in West America worsens! Aerial photography of Southern California full of container ships! Terminal operators expect to get rid of the dilemma by the end of spring

 

 

The terminal operator said that when workers throughout the supply chain are vaccinated and imports drop, the congestion in Long Beach, Los Angeles, will disappear.

Spring recovery?

Alan McCorkle, President and Chief Executive Officer of Yusen Terminals in Los Angeles, said that in the past six months, the container throughput of these terminals was close to record levels, but there was no overall congestion. This fact shows that if the peak season does not last for six consecutive months, they will have Ability to handle peak season cargo volume. He expects to return to normal in May or June.

Scott Schoenfeld, general manager of Fenix ​​Marine Services in Los Angeles, said that Fenix ​​is ​​showing signs of improvement, so he is optimistic that congestion may be eased as early as April . The density of containers in the yard is not as high as late last year, and more truck drivers are able to transport containers every day.

However, container traffic is still rising, and as overloaded ships continue to arrive in Southern California, this trend will continue until at least next month. NVOCC consultant Jon Monroe said that the eastbound transpacific shipping company has deployed or will add 10 additional loading vessels in February, all deployed at the Port of Los Angeles-Long Beach. Judging from the latest data from the Los Angeles Signal platform, there was another peak in the surge in volume in the eighth week.

 

Congestion in West America worsens! Aerial photography of Southern California full of container ships! Terminal operators expect to get rid of the dilemma by the end of spring

 

 

Volume surged in the eighth week

 

Congestion in West America worsens! Aerial photography of Southern California full of container ships! Terminal operators expect to get rid of the dilemma by the end of spring

 

 

Jon Monroe pointed out that although more Chinese factories will continue to maintain at least part of their business this month to clear the backlog of merchandise orders compared to previous years, the total volume of the East Pacific trans-Pacific region should be greater than the previous six months. Months are less.

Scott Weiss, vice president of business development at Port Logistics Group, said that the 1.8 billion square feet of industrial and distribution space throughout Southern California is not fully loaded, just like last fall before the holiday season merchandise was transferred to stores across the country. However, the availability of space in warehouses and distribution facilities has been mixed. "Some warehouses are in a mess now, others are working well. I think the ratio is about 50-50,"

Scott Weiss said that productivity has generally declined, and warehouses across the region are experiencing labor shortages due to the new crown epidemic, but at the same time, freight volumes are still exceptionally strong. "Everyone I contacted is experiencing record sales and growth, but everyone is working hard to cope."

Weston LaBar, CEO of the Port Transportation Association, said that the current truck capacity is tight, and the availability of workers at both ends of the truck driver's route, the terminal and the distribution warehouse, has been challenged . However, when workers feel safe, they return in large numbers. LaBar said: "The most effective thing we can do right now is to vaccinate."

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

New high! The freight rate of the US West route rose to 4189 US dollars, three times that of the same period last year. Many shipping companies continue to charge surcharges

After the freight rate in the trans-Pacific market has remained stable for a period of time, it has recently started a rising mode.

According to the Freightos Baltic Daily Index (Freightos Baltic Daily Index), on December 28, 2020, the freight rate of the Asia-US West Coast route reached US$4,189/FEU, a record high, an increase of 8% from December 25, which is the year of 2019. 3 times over the same period.

New high! The freight rate of the US West route rose to 4189 US dollars, three times that of the same period last year. Many shipping companies continue to charge surcharges

At the same time, the freight rate of the Asia-US East Coast route also reached an astonishing US$5397/FEU, a 9% increase from December 25 and twice the rate of the same period in 2019.

New high! The freight rate of the US West route rose to 4189 US dollars, three times that of the same period last year. Many shipping companies continue to charge surcharges

According to data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, on December 25, 2020, the freight rates (sea freight and ocean freight surcharges) for exports from Shanghai to the basic port markets of the West and the East of the United States were 4,080 USD/FEU and 4,876 USD/FEU, respectively. The US West route rose 4.6% from the previous week.

Analysts of the Shanghai Shipping Exchange said that the average space utilization rate of ships on the Shanghai Port to the West and East U.S. routes maintained at a level close to full load. However, the U.S. epidemic has blocked the turnover of containers, and a large number of containers are stranded at the local terminal. The congestion of the port is increasing, and the shortage of containers has not been alleviated.

In addition, a number of shipping companies including CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Evergreen Shipping, HMM, ONE, Yangming Shipping, and Star Shipping have announced that they will start on the trans-Pacific route from January 1, 2021. , Charge a comprehensive rate increase surcharge (GRI) ranging from US$1,000 to US$1,200/FEU.

The market predicts that the upward trend of freight rates will continue until January 2021.

New high! The freight rate of the US West route rose to 4189 US dollars, three times that of the same period last year. Many shipping companies continue to charge surcharges

In contrast to the fast-growing transportation demand, after a fully loaded ship arrived at the US West Port, it faced the dilemma of nowhere to stop.

According to a report released by the Marine Exchange of Southern California on December 28, 2020, a total of 24 container ships are anchored in San Pedro Bay, and another 5 ships are about to arrive.

According to the report, the local conventional anchorages are full of ships, and some emergency anchorages have also been occupied.

Marine Traffic uses an automatic identification system to draw a map that shows the extent of the accumulation of container ships in San Pedro Bay, which has deteriorated in recent weeks.

New high! The freight rate of the US West route rose to 4189 US dollars, three times that of the same period last year. Many shipping companies continue to charge surcharges

According to statistics, 26 additional ships called at the Port of Los Angeles in November and 31 ships in December. A port manager said that it is expected that in January 2021, more additional ships will call.

The loading and unloading capacity of the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach has already faced serious shortages. The Port of Los Angeles will import 116,500 TEU containers this week, and it is expected to increase significantly to 150,000 TEU per week by January 2021.

The continuous increase in freight rates and the severe congestion at the US West Port have caused shippers’ costs to hit unprecedented highs, and shippers have to reassess their transportation cost budgets for 2021.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

The shipping industry is facing the hot market, “crazy boxes” one price a day!

The shipping industry in 2020 can be said to be half winter and half summer.

Affected by the epidemic, China's exports declined in the first half of the year, and the shipping industry was cold and "overwintering" ahead of schedule. In the second half of the year, the neglected shipping industry directly entered the "midsummer." As the epidemic situation in China stabilizes and the economy recovers steadily, goods from all countries are transferred from Chinese ports. For a time, China's shipping industry is showing a busy scene.

“It’s too difficult to order containers now!” A reporter from the Securities Daily could see vehicles transporting containers coming and going at the Shanghai port. A foreign trade official who did not want to be named told the reporter: “At present, I want to order a container. The price can be said to be one price per day. Not only that, even if the container is booked, I still have to worry about the availability of the cabin."

 

The shipping industry is facing the hot market, "crazy boxes" one price a day!

 

 

"Shanghai SIPG, Ningbo, and Shenzhen are all major ports in the world. In 2018 and 2019, the container throughput of Shanghai Port was ranked first. Recently, the container shipping market is very hot, and many boxes cannot be returned after they go out." People from listed companies commented on the reporter of "Securities Daily".

In this regard, Liu Wang, chairman of Shanghai Tianhui International Logistics Co., Ltd., told reporters: “The price of container transportation has been rising. Because shipping companies have fewer ships, they often suspend voyages, and the lack of boxes is common, even if the price increases. It cannot fundamentally solve the problem of missing boxes."

• One price a day, "boxes" are crazy

"The most exaggerated time in the past 10 years." Speaking of the current shipping industry, Ms. Xie, who is engaged in the foreign trade industry, told a reporter from the Securities Daily. Ms. Xie is mainly responsible for the freight of Guangzhou Nansha Port and Shenzhen Port. She told reporters that taking a 40-foot container as an example, the highest sea freight to the Middle East at this time last year was about US$3,000. It costs almost US$5,000 now. Last year, it was US$2,800 to US$3,200 to Europe, and now it is US$6,000 to US$7,000. This year, the freight is almost twice the same period last year.

By the end of the year, the lack of positions became a true portrayal of the operation industry.

“Nowadays, there is a shortage of containers and high freight rates. The supply exceeds demand. During the epidemic, there was a large backlog of foreign containers that could not be arranged for delivery, and no one carried the goods. Almost all customers were looting containers. Under current market conditions, there are few freight forwarders. When looking for new customers, they are basically priority old customers.” Ms. Xie told reporters that the new year is approaching, and major suppliers are fully shipping. It is expected that the shortage of containers will continue.

 

The shipping industry is facing the hot market, "crazy boxes" one price a day!

 

 

"First of all you have to have a position, then you have to line up the truck to get the container, and finally you have to wait for the port to open before you can enter the port. Every day, you have to go through five hurdles, and you have to face customer soul torture. It's late, can't you figure it out?" A shipping forwarder complained about the tightness of the current export containers.

Liu Wang revealed to the "Securities Daily" reporter: "Many forwarders who have no boxes sometimes look for scalpers. Now forwarders are looting positions. The positions have to be booked in advance. Many people robbed and reselled them. In the past, they did not lose their shipping fees. Now that the shipping companies are recovering their losses, the shipping companies are about to usher in a wave of market conditions this year. After the merger and reorganization last year, it is estimated that all the money lost in the past will be made back this year."

Liu Wang said: “In the past Christmas and the Spring Festival, there will be a wave of liquidation market, this year is particularly fierce because of the epidemic. South American container boxes were the lowest in history at 50 US dollars a small container, and now basically it costs more than 5,000 US dollars, and a large box 10,000. U.S. dollars, if $5,000 this week is too expensive for you, you may not be able to order $6,000 next week, basically one price a week."

In fact, the current container price has been upgraded to a daily basis. A person in charge of an international logistics company said: “In Qingdao Port, the price of a second-hand 40-foot container in previous years was about US$2,000. On November 27 this year, the price rose to US$2,850; by November 30, the price of a second-hand container rose to US$3,200. ; On December 3, it rose to 3,400 US dollars again, almost one day."

According to data from the freight benchmark company Xeneta, the current average price of short-term market contracts in Asia and Europe for three months or less is 200% higher than a year ago, at $4,831 per 40 feet. But from the same period last year, freight rates across Southeast Asia have increased by an astonishing 390.5%.

The relevant person in charge of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings told reporters: “As the volume of goods continues to rise, the demand for export containers has greatly increased, and the domestic guarantee for container use has become tighter. However, the turnover of overseas empty containers has generally slowed due to the continuous impact of the epidemic situation in various places. Transfer back to China to meet demand."

"The whole industry is looking for boxes everywhere, and some merchants are beginning to hoard boxes to speculate on prices." In the eyes of industry insiders, the current situation of foreign trade companies being difficult to find a box is not only because of the slow operation of containers, but also because of the reduction of some routes. .

"There are few ship lines, and most of the cabinets shipped abroad can't return. This is the root cause of the skyrocketing price of the domestic container transportation market." Liu Wang explained to the reporter: "It's not that foreign cabinets are not coming back. It is the epidemic situation abroad. The impact is that the workers do not go to work and the speed of transportation is relatively slow. Now everyone is sharing the warehouse."

According to Liu Wang, the container ships now and the alliance has been formed since last year. Originally, it used its own ships to transport the goods. Now four or five shipowners or five or six companies form an alliance, and use the same ship. warehouse. "It turns out that there may be several shipping companies arranging several shifts to go to sea in a week. Once we formed an alliance, the shifts decreased in a week. This started last year. Now shipping companies often stop once a week, which objectively leads to a shortage of ships. ."

A person in charge of the Shanghai Maritime Logistics Company introduced to a reporter from the Securities Daily: "At present, the proportion of import and export trade by sea is imbalanced. There are few boxes coming in and many boxes going out . In addition, China has quickly prevented and controlled the epidemic, and overseas orders have continued to surge. , Increasing the pressure on shipping. Overseas, affected by the epidemic, the operation cycle of containers shipped out due to business environment problems has been lengthened, the arrival process has increased, and the operation efficiency has slowed and lengthened the circulation cycle. Due to the early outbreak of the epidemic, major shipping The company has reduced many routes, resulting in uneven distribution of global container volumes."

 

The shipping industry is facing the hot market, "crazy boxes" one price a day!

 

 

The industry believes that with the increase in market demand, the current effective capacity is obviously insufficient.

The relevant person in charge of COSCO Shipping Holdings revealed to the reporter: "As the global epidemic prevention and control has become normalized, global trade has been rapidly repaired since the third quarter of this year, and the demand in the container shipping market has recovered beyond expectations. In order to meet the growth of transportation demand, market capacity has gradually returned to normal. , The idle capacity has dropped rapidly from the record high of more than 2.7 million TEU (international standard unit units) in May this year. At present , there is no airworthy effective capacity to rent in the market. "

In the context of uneven global container deployment, container prices on different routes have also risen at different rates.

"Since November, the price of the U.S. line has increased by about four times compared with the beginning of the year, and the European line has risen to the highest price last year. From the perspective of the distribution of China’s export routes, the U.S. container accounts for 25%, Europe accounts for 25%, and Southeast Asia , Northeast Asia adds up to 50%, the US route is now hard to find a box is the norm, followed by the European route, freight is also very tight. The price of Malaysia route in Southeast Asia has also doubled recently." The person in charge of the aforementioned logistics company added.

Facing the increase in demand for containers, the above-mentioned relevant person in charge of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings stated: “The company will strengthen scientific forecasts for container use, actively coordinate dual-brand superior resources, and make every effort to guarantee the use of containers during peak seasons. On the one hand, internally tap the potential and accelerate overseas heavy container Demolition speed, increase empty container callback domestic and Far East efforts to promote container turnover; on the other hand, close communication with container manufacturers and container leasing companies to seek more container sources. Through two-pronged and multiple measures, to guarantee domestic container use Provide effective assistance and try our best to meet the shipping needs of customers."

In order to meet the development needs of the container market, SIPG has launched a number of effective measures to promote container volume growth in response to the market. At the beginning of this year, the Group launched seven special measures for container growth, through the implementation of preferential international transit loading and unloading fees, extension of the international transit container storage exemption period, and sea-rail intermodal customs clearance container preferential projects. In the first half of the year, the Group established three major container areas: Yangshan, Outer Harbor, and Domestic Trade, striving to achieve overall planning and agglomeration effects.

According to SIPG’s official announcement, in October, each terminal of Shanghai Port set a new record. The monthly throughput of Shengdong Company exceeded 820,000 TEUs for the first time. Among them, 33068 TEUs and 12899.75 TEUs were updated on October 25. Class record; Guandong Company broke through 720,000 TEU, setting a new record again.

• How long can the "shortage of containers" last? What is the future prospect of the shipping industry? 

"The first half of the year was affected by the new crown epidemic. Ports and shipping fields did suffer a relatively large negative impact, so the first half of the year was basically a negative growth state. In the second half of the year, especially after the third quarter, normal operations resumed to a certain extent, plus China The epidemic has been controlled to a certain extent, and most of the economic activities have been resumed first. Therefore, compared with the first half of the year, there is indeed a big sign of a bottoming out." said Liu Dian, a research assistant at the Chongyang Institute of Finance of Renmin University of China.

In the first two months of this year, my country's foreign trade imports and exports dropped significantly. According to China Customs data, from January to February 2020, my country's total import and export value of goods trade was 4.12 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 9.6%. Among them, exports were 2.04 trillion yuan, down 15.9%; imports were 2.08 trillion yuan, down 2.4%.

Although the current domestic epidemic situation is under control, the global epidemic is breaking out, and exports are still under certain impact.

It can be said that in the first half of this year, people in the shipping industry were mainly pessimistic about my country's export prospects. In the second half of the year, the industry was generally optimistic about the future development of the shipping industry.

The shipping industry is facing the hot market, "crazy boxes" one price a day!

Insiders analyzed to the "Securities Daily" reporter that this round of container freight price increases began in the middle of this year. At that time, after the domestic epidemic was brought under control, foreign countries were greatly affected by the epidemic, and many overseas orders were transferred to the domestic market. When shipping from China, the shipping price began to rise. According to Liu Wang's prediction, this round of price increases will continue until the first quarter of next year.

An unnamed person in charge of maritime logistics said: "As the epidemic stabilizes, this hot market will continue into the first half of next year, or even longer."

"This wave of increase in container shipping prices has driven the adjustment of the entire foreign trade sector, breaking the laws of the past decades in the industry. Not only ocean freight, air freight and land transportation have different levels of influence and changes. The epidemic has accelerated the entire large trade sector. The consolidation and adjustment of the shipping sector will gradually move towards intensive development. Shipping companies have become monopolistic after years of integration and mergers. The aviation sector and the land transport sector are also rapidly integrated, and a new chapter will emerge in the future foreign trade field." People say so.

According to Huang Tianhua, chairman of the China Container Industry Association and vice president of CIMC, predicted that the shortage of containers may continue for about six months . He said: "We have monitored that if there are 500,000 new containers in China normally, they are in a completely healthy state if they are ready for use in the docks or ports, but the current tighter inventory is about 300,000 new containers. I expect it to be possible. In the next three months to six months, this slightly tense balance will continue. This is probably a trend in the current industry."

Although the industry is generally optimistic about the shipping industry, Liu Dian believes that the total global trade volume in 2020 will still drop a certain percentage from the previous year, but from the perspective of the shipping industry, it will definitely be from the third quarter to the fourth quarter. There will be a better market.

Liu Dian said: “Affected by the epidemic in the first half of the year, the uncertainties slowed down in the second half of the year, and the overall trend showed a relatively large rebound. Therefore, from a macro perspective, global international trade has rebounded to a certain extent. China is the first to resume the rebound led by the next."

" At present, the shipping industry is mainly affected by three factors :

Di Yi factor is that the global economy is expected to have a recovery, so after the third quarter, international trade has been warmer, led the field of shipping industry as a whole for the better, whether it is from container or just have some trade from the sea to pick up case .

The second factor is that with the signing of the RCEP agreement, a series of regional economic integration cooperation relations in East Asia and Southeast Asia will improve, which will benefit the import and export trade of China and related countries.

The third factor is that although the epidemic has not been eliminated on a global scale, all countries are in short supply, such as medical supplies, production supplies, and living supplies. China is now the world's largest trade surplus country. Under such circumstances, China's export trade, including part of its import trade, will also get a relatively large rebound in demand, and at the same time promote the rise of a series of shipping-related industry indexes in related fields, including the container shipping index. "Liu Dian said.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

Continued high freight rates and shortage of containers, DHL&Hapag-Lloyd: The container market is expected to be in the second half of 2021

If shippers and logistics companies hope that the ultra-high shipping container prices will fall in the New Year, then they may be disappointed.

 

Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, revealed at a press conference that global logistics giants and container liner companies expect that the chaotic market, lack of berths, and container shortages, etc., will still be available by 2021. Will last for a while.

 

In addition, Tim Scharwath, CEO of freight forwarding giant DHL Global Freight Forwarding, also attended the meeting. What the two CEOs have in common is that they agree that 2020 is characterized by great unpredictability, such as promising customers whether their goods will reach their destinations on time, which is very unpredictable.

 

 

 

As time goes by and the year is coming to an end, shippers have to pay more and more freight to ship the goods. This development is largely due to the sharp increase in demand month by month since July. For example, it is not uncommon to have to pay US$5,000 for shipping containers from Hong Kong to New York.

 

▍It will not stabilize until the second half of 2021

 

The two executives agreed that after the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia this spring, the very special environment has caused a historic imbalance between supply and demand. They also believe that the shipping market will not stabilize for the time being.

 

Scharwath said: "As for shipping, I think we must enter the second half of 2021 before we see the market stabilize again. The first quarter will definitely be affected, and so will the second quarter."

 

"We will have to wait and see what happens, because everything is difficult to predict. As a large company, we usually make plans for 3 to 5 years. Now, we are making plans for 3 months."

 

 

 

Inadequate ship capacity and insufficient containers have serious consequences for the industry’s supply chain. In addition to customer dishonesty and record high freight rates, a recent survey conducted by Sea-Intelligence shows that only half of the ships can reach their destinations on time .

 

▍Shipping companies strengthen management and control

 

Mainly affected by the new crown epidemic, container shipping companies’ performance in the second quarter was weak, but their profits have soared to record levels since the summer. However, the quality of service is lacking, and container shipping companies have been stating for months that these conditions are beyond the scope that they can change.

 

On the one hand, they do not have more ships to deploy, on the other hand, they cannot redistribute the containers to the required ports. In addition to other reasons, customers do not return the goods.

 

Currently, Asia in particular is suffering from a shortage of containers because many containers are in the United States. According to a Bloomberg report, it may also be because of port congestion that these containers cannot be unloaded at US ports. This is the case with 20 container ships currently near the Port of Long Beach.

Therefore, at the beginning of December, CMA CGM, Maersk and ONE had to refuse to leave the booking outside of Asia, the reason is very simple, because there is no extra space on board.

 

Hapag-Lloyd, led by Habben Jansen, also benefited from the increase in freight rates in recent months. Therefore, the shipping company has twice raised its full-year 2020 profit forecast, and the company currently expects its operating results to exceed US$2.7 billion.

 

However, the CEO said that it is usually because of an oversupply of ships, and 10 years after the industry has lost billions of dollars, it is time for container shipping companies to start making money.

 

 

 

▍Strong performance in the second quarter of next year

 

Until recently, shipping companies and container manufacturers also predicted that the current shortage of containers will be resolved after the Chinese New Year in February, which will restore the market to a more normal state. But Habben Jansen no longer believes this prediction is correct.

 

"This year’s development is beyond everyone’s expectations. Because of the introduction of economic stimulus measures, people still have money on hand, and most of the money has been spent on container cargo. Many signs indicate that the strong market we see after the Spring Festival has passed. It will appear and will continue into the second quarter."

 

Habben Jansen pointed out that the current market congestion will take some time to resolve.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

Had it not been for the blocking of US ports, China’s November trade surplus could have exceeded 75.4 billion US dollars

In recent months, the number of ships going to the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach has almost doubled, and the nearby seas have been heavily congested, causing extensive delays in routes north of the United States and even affecting the throughput of the Port of Oakland. The Marine Exchange of Southern California in Los Angeles confirmed the incident. According to statistics, 52 container ships entered and exited the San Pedro Bay port on Monday alone, and the daily average for the year was 24 ships, even more exaggerated is that the number of berthed ships reached 23 ships, and the daily average is only one.

 

The rapid increase in the number of trans-Pacific freighters has boosted the throughput data of California container ports. According to statistics, the container throughput of the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach in November showed double-digit growth-the container throughput of the Port of Los Angeles in November Soared to 889,746 TEU, an increase of 22% over the same period last year. Officials from the local port and shipping authority stated that there has been an unprecedented surge in freight volume under the influence of factors such as the increase in consumers at the end of the year, the approaching holidays such as Christmas and New Year, and the inventory of various units.

The gap between imports and exports across the United States has widened again, and the rate of empty containers in ports has skyrocketed

 

Had it not been for the blocking of US ports, China’s November trade surplus could have exceeded 75.4 billion US dollars

 

 

Gene Seroka, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, said at a news conference on Wednesday, “After nearly 11 months of year-on-year decline in freight volume, we have now ushered in 4 consecutive months of year-on-year growth. In the past month, our monthly average throughput reached 930,000 TEUs. But related to this, our export volume was affected by many factors-mainly due to the continuing trade tensions with China and the continued appreciation of the U.S. dollar. The volume dropped by 5.5% compared to the same period last year, and it was down nearly 15% for the whole year. Fully loaded containers were even shipped back to Asia empty after being unloaded at our port. This month, the number of empty containers was as high as 294,000 TEUs. This was an increase of nearly 35% in the same period last year."

 

The Port of Long Beach also stated in a press release that November was the best November on record, and that this was the result of the holiday retail boom and the surge in delivery of medical protective equipment-the Port of Long Beach in November The container throughput was 783,523 TEUs, an increase of 30.6% over the same period last year. The situation at the Port of Long Beach is entirely related to the surge in imports. Imports increased by 30.5%, soaring to 382,677 TEUs; but exports fell 5.2% to 117,283 TEUs-like the Port of Los Angeles, the empty container rate increased by 55% to 283,563 TEUs Standard box.

Mario Cordero, Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach, said: "As consumers choose to live at home this year, online shopping and purchases of medical protective equipment have gradually increased. However, as a new round of new crown pneumonia epidemic is still spreading across the country, The overall economic outlook is uncertain."

 

This is the highest port import volume that U.S. ports have encountered in the past decade

Some analysts believe that due to the restrictions of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, consumers are unable to spend money on services and start to spend money on goods, resulting in this unexpected growth, and the new crown epidemic has also contributed to the prosperity of container ports (at least Is temporary).

 

Excessive accumulation of goods has become a problem that more and more container ports are facing. MarineTraffic AIS (Ship Positioning) data shows that an average of more than 20 container ships are waiting in Los Angeles and San Pedro Bay in Long Beach every day. This is the same as the number of ships at anchorage last week.

 

Had it not been for the blocking of US ports, China’s November trade surplus could have exceeded 75.4 billion US dollars

 

 

Source: Marine Traffic

John McCown, the founder of Blue Alpha Capital, said that this seemed unimaginable when the new crown epidemic began. He added: "Considering the possible increase in December 2020, the annual increase will be around 1.5%, which will reverse the slight decline of 0.9% in 2019.

 

McCown pointed out that there were several industries where imports surged in November. Imports of furniture, sporting goods and toys increased by 55%. In October and September, they increased by 52% and 41%, respectively. "The lifestyle at home has driven the sales of a range of consumer products." He added that the surge in demand is partly due to consumers' redistribution of spending that is usually used for vacations, dining out and entertainment.

 

According to data from Blue Alpha Capital, despite the positive import data, US exports in November fell by 4.2%, the ninth consecutive month of decline, further exacerbating trade imbalances, and the import load ratio of each export reached 2.32, which is close to the historical record. .

McCown said: "The latest data seems to confirm that the impact of the trade war on our container exports is greater than the impact on our container imports."

 

Facing the soaring imports from the west coast, the port of Auckland in the north is not so lucky

 

Had it not been for the blocking of US ports, China’s November trade surplus could have exceeded 75.4 billion US dollars

 

 

Unlike the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles on the west coast, the Port of Oakland in the north increased its throughput by less than 1% year-on-year in November and its export volume fell by 2.6%. In November, the total imported container volume was 78,045 TEUs.

 

Officials at the Port of Oakland said that despite the strong import demand from the United States, the import volume of our port is far from reaching the expected value. The official quoted reports from local maritime experts as saying that it is precisely because of large batches of imported goods across the United States that disrupted the normal freight arrangements at ports, causing large-scale delays in the delivery of goods at many ports. What needs to be pointed out is that the increased accumulation of imported cargo in Southern California ports has caused ship delays, and many ships originally scheduled to call at the Port of Oakland have been forced to change their routes or directly cancel their call arrangements.

 

The director of the Port of Oakland, Bryan Brandes, declared that everyone does not need to be so pessimistic. “The cargo that should come to our port will still come, at most a while later (Thecargo is there, it's just delayed).” He expects to wait until December for a certain amount of cargo. Will grow.

 

However, Brandes also acknowledged that the increase in the number of incoming ships on the west coast has had a butterfly effect on the Port of Oakland. "Most of the cargo east of the trans-Pacific route is the Los Angeles route directly, and then some of it will go north to and from the Port of Oakland. So once the Port of Los Angeles produces Because of the delay, we will have a little impact here more or less."

 

U.S. agricultural exports have been affected by the chain, and this new year may not have been easy

 

Had it not been for the blocking of US ports, China’s November trade surplus could have exceeded 75.4 billion US dollars

 

 

The Port of Oakland is an export gateway favored by agricultural producers in central California, and it is now being hit by disruptions in the supply chain. As the Spring Festival approaches, exporters of agricultural products in many places, including California, said that due to shipping delays, their export business has been affected on a large scale-especially almond and walnut exporters, whose export peaks are at the end of each year.

 

Ed DeNike, President of SSA Terminals, said: "The biggest problem is due to traffic congestion in Southern California. Freight ships have not left Southern California. The arrival of the ships at the Port of Oakland may be delayed for at least one week."

 

Peter Schneider, vice president of freight company TGS Logistics, said that the butterfly effect of port congestion on the inland supply chain is getting worse. TGS now has to double the capacity of their container warehouse in Auckland. Because of the delay in the arrival of the ship, the shipping company will either refuse to accept all the exported goods or change the date of receiving the exported goods. This has caused exporters’ services to overseas buyers. Had a great impact.

 

my country's port containers are "difficult to find"

 

Had it not been for the blocking of US ports, China’s November trade surplus could have exceeded 75.4 billion US dollars

 

 

On the one hand, U.S. agricultural product exporters were delayed due to ship delays, and on the other hand, Chinese product exports were restricted by the shortage of containers.

 

According to economic data released by my country, China set a new record of trade surplus in November-US$75.4 billion, and exports increased by 21.1% year-on-year. Among them, exports to the United States led the growth and hit a record high. Analysts pointed out that the surge in trade imports to China is contrary to the expectations of U.S. bipartisan politicians. Although the Trump administration has imposed various restrictions on Chinese goods, there are few signs that the global supply chain will move closer to the U.S. On the contrary, the long-term impact of the epidemic on the United States seems to strengthen the position of China's manufacturing industry.

 

According to port carriers, due to the heavy congestion of major ports in the United Kingdom and the United States, a large number of containers have been stranded in these ports, which has affected global container turnover. The shortage of empty containers in Asian ports is so serious that carriers sometimes cannot guarantee Loading cargo at Asian loading ports.

 

Although carriers have made every effort to send empty containers from the United States to Asia-these measures even include "self-harm" measures such as drastically reducing the free container period, they still cannot change the reality of a serious shortage of containers in Asia, especially in China The ports of Xiamen, Ningbo and Shanghai, so that some ships cannot leave Asia with full load.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

note! Epidemics in Europe and America continue to fight back! London’s highest level of blockade, New York or all blockade! The end of the port delay is suspended!

Winter is coming, Europe and the United States continue to fight back against the epidemic! The most advanced blockade in London, England, or full blockade in New York!

The continuation of the new crown epidemic has caused shipping companies to continue to face port backlogs and ship delays. The tail-end logistics delivery also depends on luck. International supply chains are becoming increasingly tense and global trade is facing the risk of disruption.

Epidemics in Europe and America counterattack menacingly

According to data from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 7:27 on the 16th Beijing time, there were 73,365,192 confirmed cases of new crowns worldwide, and 1,632,554 deaths. The United States is still the most severely affected country in the world, with 16,677,333 confirmed cases and 303,046 deaths.

▍London enters the highest level of blockade again, and the port is still heavily congested

It has been less than two weeks before Christmas, and people are shopping and preparing for the holiday enthusiastically. However, the epidemic in Europe has raised concerns again at this time.

The British epidemic is already a real rebound!

 

note! Epidemics in Europe and America continue to fight back! London's highest level of blockade, New York or all blockade! The end of the port delay is suspended!

 

 

According to the latest epidemic report, there were 18,450 newly diagnosed cases in the UK in a single day, and a total of 1,869,666 confirmed cases; 506 new deaths in a single day, and a total of 64,908 deaths.

 

note! Epidemics in Europe and America continue to fight back! London's highest level of blockade, New York or all blockade! The end of the port delay is suspended!

 

 

note! Epidemics in Europe and America continue to fight back! London's highest level of blockade, New York or all blockade! The end of the port delay is suspended!
Infection in London

On the afternoon of the 14th, the British Secretary of Health Hancock officially announced in the House of Commons that London, the west and south of Essex, and the south of Hertfordshire will be upgraded to the strictest level three lockdown from Wednesday (16th). .

 

note! Epidemics in Europe and America continue to fight back! London's highest level of blockade, New York or all blockade! The end of the port delay is suspended!

After the escalation of the Level 3 lockdown in London, the following measures need to be strictly observed:

• Bars, restaurants, and cafes are closed, and only take-out and delivery services are reserved;

•  Shops, gyms, and barber shops can continue to be open;

•  People are not allowed to socialize with people from other families indoors, private gardens or most outdoor public places;

•  Up to 6 people can socialize outdoors;

•  Fans are once again prohibited from entering football fields and other stadiums;

•  Cinemas and bowling alleys are closed;

•  People are advised not to go to the tertiary lockdown zone.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned on Wednesday that according to current trends, the government will have to take stricter measures in the capital to effectively limit the spread of the new crown virus.

The Mayor of London warned that “if London enters the third level of lockdown, it will be catastrophic for those industries that have been severely affected by the new crown pandemic.”

note! Epidemics in Europe and America continue to fight back! London's highest level of blockade, New York or all blockade! The end of the port delay is suspended!

Although London was initially listed as a “second-tier lockdown” city when the nationwide blockade measures were lifted on December 2, London’s current level of restrictions will be reassessed next week, just as the relaxation of Christmas regulations is coming A few days before it becomes effective.

In addition, severe congestion in most ports in the UK has forced several shipping companies to impose congestion surcharges and cancel some flights.

British importers are currently facing major challenges, and the shipping division of the Ocean Alliance decided to transfer the other five ships that arrived in Felixstowe in December to Zeebrugge, Belgium. Cosco Shipping Azalea, Ever Goods, Ever Globe, CSCL Jupiter and CSCL Uranus will no longer call at Felixstowe, and will unload British imports at Belgian ports.

British ports continued to increase congestion, 2M abandoned Felixstowe and switched to Liverpool, and major shipping companies cancelled berthing at hub ports. Starting from the end of this year, the 2M Alliance has replaced the Port of Felixstowe with the Port of Liverpool on its TA2/NEUATL2 ring route across the Atlantic.

In addition, in front of the cargo entrance of the Eurotunnel in the Port of Dover in the UK, trucks waiting in line to enter were parked, and the congestion continued for several kilometers.

note! Epidemics in Europe and America continue to fight back! London's highest level of blockade, New York or all blockade! The end of the port delay is suspended!

▍New York City in the United States may be completely blocked, 23 container ships are waiting at anchorage in California

On December 14, local time, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (Bill de Blasio) said that due to the deterioration of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, there is a possibility of a complete lockdown in New York City.

He said that since May, he has never seen the current level of new coronavirus infections. Action must be taken to stop this growth momentum. The number one job at present is to protect the health and safety of residents.

In an interview with CNN, Bai Sihao said: “We must start to close the most sensitive areas.” When asked about possible lockdown measures, he said, “I think we must be prepared in the next few weeks to deal with the current new crown pneumonia. With the momentum of the epidemic, we must stop it before it causes too much damage and too much pain."

New York Governor Cuomo pointed out that on Monday, a total of 5,712 patients with COVID-19 were treated in hospitals across New York State. At the peak of the spring, more than 18,000 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized.

Both de Blasio and Cuomo agreed to ban indoor dining in New York City from Monday to curb the surge in hospital admissions. However, they are divided on the circumstances under which they will issue the city-wide blockade order.

note! Epidemics in Europe and America continue to fight back! London's highest level of blockade, New York or all blockade! The end of the port delay is suspended!

According to the latest data released by the Port of Los Angeles, the port's container throughput in November increased by 22% year-on-year to more than 889,000 TEUs. Gene Seroka, executive director of the port, said that every part of the logistics supply chain of major ports around the world is still under constant tension.

On Tuesday, 15 container ships berthed at the Port of Los Angeles, but there were 23 more anchored at the anchored San Pedro Bay. Of these, 14 will go to berth in Los Angeles and 9 will go to berth at Long Beach Port.

It also introduced, “The stay time of containers at the terminal remains at about 5 days, which is twice as long as before the surge in imports in the summer. However, the average waiting time for warehouses and storage space is currently only 6.3 days compared to 7.1 days in October. Get better."

"The situation at the anchorage is currently a real concern for all of us. Many ships currently need to anchor and enter a waiting mode before berthing," Seroka continued. In November, 50 of the 88 ships that arrived in Los Angeles had to drop anchor first, with an average berthing time of two and a half days. So far in December, about 80% of arriving ships will drop anchor first. Now the waiting time has increased to 4 days. "

▍Germany issued the strictest blockade order 

On the 13th local time, the German Federation and the state governments agreed to further tighten the epidemic prevention and control measures from the 16th until January 10, 2021.

Retail stores except for food and essential daily necessities will be closed;

Schools and kindergartens will stop teaching face-to-face courses, but will provide distance education;

Business employers should provide employees with vacation or home office solutions.

According to the media, the strength of this "hard blockade order" is almost equal to that of the "wide blockade."

In addition, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Germany will face a new peak of new crown infections next month, which makes people suspect that the hard blockade imposed on Wednesday may not end in early January as originally planned. It is reported that German law requires the government to re-evaluate the nationwide blockade every four weeks.

DHL suspends services in 12 European countries

The current logistics situation really puts some cargo owners in trouble. According to freight forwarders, Hong Kong DHL standard channels have added 6 countries with 0-5KG parcels suspended for shipping services.

The six countries are the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Finland, Turkey, and Bulgaria. In addition to the previously suspended countries-Austria, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Romania, and Nigeria, 12 countries have suspended delivery services.

Congestion and delays in UPS, FedEx and FBA are commonplace. Now even USPS has been complained by sellers that USPS delays have ruined Christmas.

Many sellers abroad have begun to complain about the surge in USPS delays, leading to a surge in complaints from buyers. There are even eBay sellers that have started a holiday mode and plan to return to sell after January.

According to foreign media reports, outside the United States Post Office on Broadway, USPS delivery trucks are already in long queues. A truck driver has been waiting for 16 hours to unload the truck’s packages. Finally, after many round trips, they waited for two. After a day and a half, the USPS truck driver was finally able to unload his cargo.

note! Epidemics in Europe and America continue to fight back! London's highest level of blockade, New York or all blockade! The end of the port delay is suspended!

Outbreaks in other countries

Japan : In view of the continuing deterioration of the epidemic, the Japanese government announced on the evening of the 14th that it will temporarily suspend travel subsidies aimed at encouraging consumption across the country. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on the evening of the 14th that from December 28 to January 11, 2021, the country will suspend the "go travel" tourism subsidy program, and the government will compensate the operators for some of the losses.

Netherlands : In view of the rapid development of the new crown epidemic, Dutch Prime Minister Rutte made a television speech on the 14th, announcing that it will comprehensively upgrade prevention and control measures, including closing schools, closing "non-essential" stores, avoiding unnecessary travel, and working from home as much as possible. 

Singapore : Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivered a national speech on the 14th, announcing that Singapore will enter the third phase of relaxation of epidemic control measures on December 28. Singapore’s anti-epidemic inter-departmental working group further explained that starting from December 28, the government will further relax restrictions on the flow of people in shopping malls and retail stores, and tourist attractions can also apply to increase passenger capacity. In addition, the government has increased the maximum number of attendees for indoor and outdoor live performances to 250 people.

Palestine : Palestinian Prime Minister Ashtiye said on the 14th that whether to receive the new crown vaccine depends on personal wishes, and the Palestinian government will not force people to receive the new crown vaccine. The new crown vaccine is expected to begin to arrive in Palestine at the beginning of next year, when medical staff and the elderly will be given priority.

Rwanda : Rwanda’s Ministry of Health, Daniel N’gamij, said on the 13th that while the country’s current confirmed cases of new crowns have surged, the number of deaths has also increased, and the Rwanda epidemic has entered a “dangerous stage”. He called on all people to comply with the new crown epidemic prevention measures and avoid going to crowded places and participating in social gatherings when unnecessary.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

Severe congestion and long waiting time, Vietnam’s largest deep-water port is waiting for a berth 50 kilometers

The shift of manufacturing from China to Vietnam has also put pressure on the country's container supply chain.

According to the forecast of the International Monetary Fund, Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 2.4%. As many other countries fall into recession due to the epidemic blockade, Vietnam is expected to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world in 2020.

According to Simon Vandekerckove, general manager of freight logistics giant Geodis Vietnam, procurement in Vietnam is entering a new stage. The factory is overbooked. We see that overseas customers have high expectations for Vietnam, but Vietnam does not have the necessary legal or logistics basis. Facilities to achieve this.

 

"Vietnam needs a lot of investment to increase new productivity and infrastructure to cope with increasing demand, and because customers want to reduce the financial risk of sourcing from only one region, Vietnam is likely to become an outsourcing region for other ASEAN countries such as Thailand and Indonesia. one."

At the same time, the shortage of global capacity and container equipment is putting pressure on Vietnam's main container ports.

A local freight forwarder in Vietnam said that the inland river terminal in Ho Chi Minh City has been congested for a long time, and the current market conditions have increased the waiting time. The export container yard capacity is 120%, and ships need to wait two to three days to find a berth.

He added: “In Cat Lai, all shipping companies’ outbound volumes have increased dramatically, but due to lack of space, about 10%-20% of the cargo must be transferred to the next ship each time.”

Vietnam’s largest deep-water port, Cai Mep, is letting ships wait 50 kilometers away. In October, the Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT) operated by APM Terminal received the 20,000 teu Margrethe Maersk call, which is 2M One of the direct trans-Pacific routes.

The port used to have very large container ships docked (temporarily docked), but the current demand trend may cause more and more ships to come here. Next year, CMA CGM will cooperate with local operator Gemadept to open the newest terminal in Cai Mep.

Nevertheless, the current shortage of space and container equipment and the sharp rise in costs are still a huge challenge.

Vandekerckove explained: "According to all types of freight FAK and spot freight rates, bookings from Vietnam require two to three weeks in advance to secure containers and space. To the west coast of the United States, freight rates have increased by 140%, and the Mediterranean area has increased by 70%. , The Nordic region rose by 15%."

Mr. Vandekerckove said that in most cases, air freight is not an option, but road freight provides flexible options for some customers.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

Drewry analyst: The profitability of container ports this year is not as good as that of container ship owners

Drewry's report shows that the revenue of container port operators dropped by nearly US$1.9 billion in the first half of 2020. In addition to the well-known global epidemic, the decline in freight volume and port congestion are also reasons.

Drewry Port Analyst Eleanor Hadland said in the webinar: "The profitability of container ports this year is not as good as that of container ships... Our cooperative operator's transaction volume in the first half of this year dropped by 4%, while Drewry estimates global port handling volume. A decline of 5.6%... In the first half of the year, 80% of companies reported a decline in revenue. In terms of profitability, 70% of the companies’ profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2020 Lower."

Prior to the outbreak, Drewry predicted that sales in the first half of 2020 will increase by 4.8%. This is equivalent to a global revenue growth of more than 7%.

"However, due to a nearly 6% drop in sales volume, the revised estimate is now 5% lower than in 2019 and 11% lower than the pre-epidemic forecast. For the entire industry, we forecast the interest, tax, depreciation and amortization in the first half of the year. Pre-sales profit will drop by about 16% from 2019 and 21% lower than the forecast before the epidemic."

Most operators have taken cost-cutting measures. During the epidemic, due to the adoption of new working methods, and due to illness or quarantine requirements for workers, the terminal must pay for absenteeism, so the actual labor cost has increased.

Turkey-based operator Yildirim announced today that it will add a surcharge to cover the additional expenses during the new crown epidemic . The company said: “Since the beginning of the epidemic, Yilport Holding has taken additional measures to ensure the continuity of all business partners. However, the increased cost of additional health protection and protective equipment has made it difficult for us to balance our expenses. Since January 1, 2021 Starting today, we will charge an emergency surcharge for each import and export container ."

Martin Dixon, a shipping analyst, said: " The most important factor in the surge in ship operating costs is labor costs. Due to the inconvenience of crew changes, labor costs have soared . According to forecasts in 2019, labor costs can only increase by 1.3%, but in fact, in 2020 Labor costs rose by 6.2%."

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

The global port shortage of containers takes turns, the freight rate will rise from next year

Against the backdrop of the global raging COVID-19 pandemic, this year's global container shipping industry seems to be sitting on a magical "seesaw". On one side, there is a shortage of containers and high freight rates, and the other is port congestion . The two issues alternate across oceans and continents, torturing the fragile nerves of cargo owners.

However, although industry analysts sing the recovery of the operating industry, industry insiders are still cautious about the "boom" that occurred during the epidemic, especially after the middle of next year, the market supply and demand trend is still like a fog, and there are still larger ones. Uncertainty.

The problem of shortage of containers has attracted the attention of the Ministry of Commerce. On December 3, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce pointed out that, on the basis of the preliminary work, the Ministry of Commerce will continue to promote the increase of transportation capacity, support the acceleration of container return, improve operation efficiency, support container manufacturers to expand production capacity, and increase The intensity of market supervision, efforts to stabilize market prices, provide strong logistics support for the steady development of foreign trade.

 

The global port shortage of containers takes turns, the freight rate will rise from next year

The epidemic caused port failure

The problem of container shortages is happening alternately across the Pacific and the Atlantic this year.

According to Bloomberg data, in the first quarter of this year, European and American ports such as Hamburg in Germany, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Antwerp in Belgium, and Long Beach and Los Angeles in the United States have all fallen into a state of extreme shortage of containers. The port container holdings have reached a record low, while Chinese ports are stranded in a large number of containers. Waiting for quarantine. In the third quarter, the situation was reversed. The overseas epidemic was severe and the port was understaffed. According to statistics, the Port of Sydney, Australia had piled up at least 50,000 TEUs of containers to be processed. Many ports were charged with congestion charges. Hard to find" status.

Generally speaking, problems such as shortage of containers and port congestion are routine problems in the industry, which are easy to appear in peak seasons, and are also related to port processing efficiency. However, the failure of port operations caused by the epidemic has undoubtedly extended the loading and unloading time of containers.

According to a reporter from the Securities Times, due to the need for epidemic prevention, the Port of Los Angeles has temporarily reduced the number of dockers and port personnel by about one-third, and the loading and unloading of ships has been greatly affected. Due to the continuing effects of shortages of equipment and prolonged loading and unloading time in ports, a large number of imported containers have been backlogged in European and American ports, congested terminals and poor container turnover, which has hindered cargo transportation.

The global container shortage difference can be seen from the Container Availability Index (Container Availability Index) released by the container source traceability platform xChang: In July, the supply of 40-foot containers at the Port of Los Angeles was insufficient; by the end of September, the port’s container availability index had increased by 4 times. Oversupply; since September, Qingdao Port (6.110, -0.02, -0.33%) usable containers have begun to decline, and by October the usable index of 40-foot containers has fallen by half, and 20-foot containers have also been in short supply.

 

Strong Asian exports become an important driving force for recovery

Looking at the whole year, the geographical imbalance of the shortage of containers is more significant, which is directly related to the timing of the outbreak.

According to data provided by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in mid-March, the number of global container ship arrivals began to fall below the level of 2019 and did not start to recover until the third week of June. This timetable basically coincides with the World Health Organization’s listing of the new crown pneumonia as a pandemic and the deteriorating epidemic in Europe and the United States. On the other hand, the number of container ship arrivals at Chinese ports has gradually recovered since June, which is also in line with China’s The lock release time corresponds to that.

In terms of absolute volume comparison, most regions started to recover from the third quarter, but globally, the port container ship berthing volume in early August was still 3% lower than the same period last year, and North America and Europe were 16.3% lower than the same period last year. And 13.2%. In contrast, the number of port calls in China (including Hong Kong) has exceeded the level of last year, an increase of 4.1%.

China's shipping import and export took the lead in the recovery. The fundamental factor is that the domestic epidemic prevention and control has achieved major results, and the production side has taken the lead in recovery, effectively making up for the global supply gap caused by the impact of the epidemic, and also supporting the continuous growth of exports.

China Customs statistics show that in the first and second quarters of this year, China’s import and export growth rates were -6.5% and -0.2%, respectively. They were reversed in the third quarter, with a year-on-year growth of 7.5%. The total value of imports and exports reached 8.88 trillion yuan. Stable, the cumulative growth rate turned negative to positive. It is worth noting that due to the changes in lifestyles caused by the epidemic, the export of notebook computers and home appliances has increased; the export of epidemic prevention materials has also risen rapidly. The export of textiles including masks reached 828.78 billion yuan, an increase of 37.5%; medical materials and medicines, The export of medical instruments and equipment increased by 21.8% and 48.2% respectively.

According to information provided by UNCTAD to a reporter from the Securities Times, although China was the first country to be affected by the epidemic, in the first quarter, China’s overseas trade, transportation and exports were not interrupted, so the transportation at Chinese ports remained unobstructed; on the contrary; It was in the second quarter that due to the escalating blockades of various countries, economic activities were restricted, and the transportation of logistics personnel was blocked, leading to a sharp drop in imports from various countries. At this time, the impact on port operations increased significantly. Subsequently, the epidemic situation in Europe and the United States became more and more serious, and the key figures of the centralized transportation industry also bottomed out in the middle of the year. At the end of May, the World Ports Association pointed out that the number of container ships calling at about 45% worldwide dropped by 5% to 25%, and most of the cancelled ships came from the Far East route.

According to data from Alphaliner, an international shipping consulting and analysis agency, the new crown pneumonia epidemic in the first half of the year has reduced the chartering revenue of large container ships by half. Starting in the third quarter, global shipping capacity has recovered, a year-on-year increase of 2.8%, reaching 123 million TEUs, strong exports from Asia Become an important driving force for recovery.

In terms of the capital market, the share prices of listed companies in the A-share centralized transportation industry have also started in June and have risen significantly in the third quarter. CIMC (14.830, 0.20, 1.37%) and COSCO SHIPPING Holdings (9.680, 0.06, 0.62%) The performance of related listed companies also increased substantially in the third quarter.

 

The global port shortage of containers takes turns, the freight rate will rise from next year

Strong demand for containers is expected to continue into the first quarter of next year

Returning to the shipping industry itself, many shipping companies around the world took the initiative to suspend shipping under the influence of the epidemic in the first half of this year.

As the world’s top five airlines, Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, pointed out at the third-quarter performance briefing that in April this year, demand suddenly dropped by 20% and lost 200 million U.S. dollars per month, so it must be suspended to reduce 60% of the cost. He pointed out: "The market at this stage is driven by demand, not by inventory replenishment. The entire market is trying to get empty containers back to where they are needed."

In terms of container freight rates, the Shanghai Export Container Freight Index (SCFI) and China Export Container Freight Index (CCFI) released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange have set new highs. On November 27, CCFI quoted 1198.72 points, an increase of 4.6% over the previous week; SCFI quoted 2048.27 points, an increase of 109.95 points over the previous week. Under the strong demand, the price of offshore export containers also rose sharply. On November 27, the export container price of Southeast Asia routes was quoted at 995.67 points, an increase of nearly 20% over the previous week.

According to the analysis of China Securities Regulatory Commission, the supply side has not launched large-scale capacity at this stage, while the demand side has continued to grow rapidly, which will become the fundamental reason for the increase in freight rates in the transportation industry. Although the epidemic has led to pessimistic global economic expectations, in fact, the European and American manufacturing PMI index is still in the expansion range driven by policy, which provides economic fundamental support for the increase in freight rates.

However, someone from a shipping company pointed out to a reporter from the Securities Times that in the last 10 to 12 years, the shipping industry has not made any money or even recovered the cost of capital; long-term low-price competition is difficult to promote the healthy development of the industry.

So, can the epidemic promote the long-term recovery of the industry? Most people in the industry are cautious about this.

Rolf Habben Jansen pointed out that the current market is very, very strong, "but it is illogical to think that this situation will continue in the next few years." He expects that the situation will change in the next three or four quarters, and the company needs to be prepared to act quickly.

Container shipping companies and leasing companies also told reporters that the outlook is difficult to predict. Although the strong demand for containers is expected to continue into the first quarter of next year, after the middle of next year, there is still greater uncertainty in the market supply and demand trends. If European and American countries are still under lockdown or vaccine research and development and promotion fall short of expectations, and the macro economy falls into a sustained recession, the good growth momentum of the container transportation industry may not be able to maintain.