Currently, the spread of the Delta variant virus is accelerating, causing the global container turnover rate to slow down; the virus variant has a greater impact on some countries and regions in Asia, prompting many countries to cut off land passage for seafarers.
Recently, the epidemic in Vietnam has further spread, with nearly 10,000 new confirmed cases in a single day, and 19 cities continue to be blocked; Cat Lai Port (Cat Lai) and Vietnam’s new port Gai Me International Port The terminal (TCIT) informed that it will suspend the reception of import and export containers.
The container freight rate on the China-US route exceeded US$20,000, a surge of more than 500%!
With the arrival of the peak shopping season in the United States, the increasing orders from retailers have doubled the pressure on the global supply chain. Currently, the container freight rate from China to the United States has exceeded US$20,000/ 40-foot containers, a record high.
Philip Damas, general manager of Drewry, a shipping consultancy, pointed out that global container shipping has become a highly chaotic and undersupplied seller’s market; in this market, many shipping companies can Charge four to ten times the regular price for shipping.
Philip Damas said: “We have not seen this in the shipping industry for more than 30 years.” He added that he expected such “extreme freight rates” to continue until 2022 Chinese New Year.
Recently, the Freightos Baltic Daily Index has adjusted its method of tracking ocean freight rates to include for the first time various premium surcharges required for bookings , which greatly improves the transparency of actual costs paid by cargo owners. The latest index shows:
The freight rate per container on the China-US East route has reached US$20,804, an increase of more than 500% from a year ago;
The cost from China to the United States is slightly less than 20,000 US dollars;
The latest rate from China to Europe is close to 14,000 US dollars.
The China Ports and Ports Association stated that after the epidemic rebounded in some countries, the turnaround time of some major foreign ports slowed down to about 7-8 days.
Soaring freight rates have led to higher charter rates for container ships, forcing shipping lines to prioritize serving the most profitable routes. Tan Hua Joo, executive consultant at research consultancy Alphaliner, said: “Ships can only make profits in industries with higher freight rates, which is why capacity has mainly moved to the United States.”
Drewry managing director Philip Damas said some carriers had reduced volumes on less profitable routes, such as transatlantic and intra-Asia routes. “This means that the latter’s rates are now rising rapidly.”
Industry experts analyzed that the new crown pneumonia epidemic at the beginning of last year brought the global economy to a sudden brake and triggered disruptions in the global supply chain. , the result is a skyrocketing increase in sea freight.
Jason Chiang, director of Ocean Shipping Consultants, said: “Whenever the market reaches a so-called equilibrium, there will be emergencies that allow shipping companies to increase freight rates.”
He pointed out that the blockage of the Suez Canal in March was also one of the main reasons for shipping companies to increase freight rates. “Newbuilding orders are equivalent to almost 20% of existing capacity, but they will not be operational until 2023, so we will not see any significant increase in capacity for two years.”
Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Company, and CMA CGM have launched levies and increased multiple surcharges
Recently, the US Federal Maritime Commission FMC issued a notice, Eight ocean carriers were asked to respond regarding congestion-related surcharges they have implemented or announced. This action was taken in response to information received by the FMC from “multiple parties” reporting that the carrier had inappropriately implemented the surcharge.
Despite this, it still failed to stop shipping companies from charging surcharges and raising prices…
1 Maersk will charge a peak season surcharge
Maersk recently announced that it will charge customers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mongolia, Japan, Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) is levied on all goods shipped from North and South Korea to Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, Australia.
Among them, US$750 per 20-foot container, US$1,500 per 40-foot container, and US$1,500 per 45-foot high container.
2 CMA CGM raises overweight surcharge (OWS)
CMA CGM Airline announced on August 4 that it will increase the overweight surcharge (OWS) for cargo from Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, China, Hong Kong, China, Macau, China, and India to the east coast of South America starting from September 5.
According to the announcement, the increase range is: for every 20 feet of dry box, if the gross weight of the container is equal to or exceeds 18 tons, the increase will be USD 300.
3 MSC levies service interruption surcharge
MSC also issued an announcement Said that the current market situation is severe and transportation demand is growing. In addition, the strict measures taken by major ports around the world to fight the epidemic have led to an increase in yard density and a significant extension of ship waiting times, including routes from Asia to Northern Europe.Global network operations have been severely affected.
Affected by this, the company will impose a service interruption surcharge (SDS) from August 15. The applicable scope is all goods sent from Asia to Northwest Europe (NWC). The specific fee implementation standards will be notified separately.
</p
