Total capacity on the Transpacific is set to rebound sharply in the coming 4 weeks, with an average of over 560,000 teu departing from Asia to the US weekly compared to the Week 19 low of 377,000 teu. Additional capacity are still being added as carriers capitalize on rising demand and soaring transpacific freight rates. CUL is the latest carrier to join the bandwagon, adding a new standalone Transpacific service from June while incumbent carriers have also added extra loaders and resumed suspended services.
The sudden boom has also lifted charter rates with carriers scrambling to cover the immediate vessel positions as demand remains strong across all segments. The Atlantic trade could receive a short term boost after the US delayed their threat to impose 50% tariffs on EU imports, but attention remains focused on Asian export routes with the Asia-Europe rate rally losing steam after Maersk was once again singled out for undercutting their rivals’ rates.
Johnson Leung
Rebound in Transpacific capacity to ease June rate hike
The restoration of suspended Transpacific services along with the addition of extra loaders have fully restored the total capacity available on the Far East-North American route. These capacity additions are expected to mitigate the impact of soaring Transpacific rates which are expected to rise to $6,000/feu to the US West Coast and $7,000/feu to the US East Coast on 1 June 2025. With container equipment availability and port congestion both under control, coupled with the rebound in vessel capacity, there are few parallels to the pandemic-era bottlenecks that helped push freight rates to record highs in 2021 and 2022 of over $10,000/feu.
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