The SCFI retreated last week by 1.6% after 14 consecutive weekly gains in a further sign that the market has peaked. While demand remains firm, supply has also risen with capacity injections most notably in the Indian subcontinent, Latin America and US West Coast routes where freight rates are the most lucrative currently. This has capped freight rate increases on those routes, but overall capacity utilisation remains tight, with rates still rising on the Asia-North Europe route as schedule disr
SCFI rates to North Europe slipped back marginally after last week’s 12.5% gain with the 1 July rate increase still largely in place. Carriers are still pushing for a mid-July increase, with mixed views on whether this fresh round of rate hikes will stick. Capacity utilization has slipped in the last 2 weeks, with the launch of 3 new FE-North Europe services and bunching departures on 3 other strings adding some 100,000 teu of additional slots to the market. Slot availability will be down over
SCFI spot freight rates to North Europe surged by 12.5% with the peak season demand surge continuing while supply is still constrained by port congestion. Pre-GRI cargo bookings surged ahead of the 1 July rate hikes which pushed up demand further despite new capacity from Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM as well as several extra loaders using smaller ships. The launch of MSC’s Britannia in July will put further pressure on overall capacity utilization to North Europe which remains tight despite the intr
SCFI spot freight rates to North Europe rose a further 3.8% last week, while rates to the Med were largely flat with a gain of just 0.1%. The tighter capacity and bottlenecks around Southeast Asia and North Europe ports have helped to narrow the rate gap between North Europe and Med which has shrunk to $500/teu compared to a peak of over $1,000/teu just 2 months earlier. Rates look set to continue to rise in July but the pace of the rate gains could slow as the recent capacity additions to Nort
Fears over a container market correction sparked by the possible end to hostilities in the Middle East proved to be premature as Chinese freight futures regaining all of last Tuesday’s losses, with further gains still to come after the SCFIS recorded a 3rd straight week of double digit % gains. The introduction of 3 new North Europe strings by Hapag-Lloyd (CGX) in June, followed by MSC (Britannia) and CMA CGM (French Peak) in July has not dampened the rate momentum with the SCFI rising by 5.7%
Spot rates to Europe have risen above their January peaks with momentum continuing to be strong given the current tight space situation with further rate hikes expected in the coming weeks. Week 22 saw just 6 out of 11 Asia-North Europe sailings depart on schedule the congestion at Singapore and Tanjung Pelepas has severely disrupted the market. Overall capacity utilization remains very high while forward capacity forecasts for June with continued delays arising from congestion, which will redu
Transpacific spot rates rallied sharply last week ahead of the 1 May GRI with rates to the West Coast rising to $3,600/feu and East Coast rates reaching $4,600/feu. Several carriers are still pushing for additional increases that could bump rates past $4,000 and $5,000 respectively over the coming week. Capacity remains tight in May but additional capacity on the West Coast is expected in June which could ease some of the current rate pressure. OCEAN Alliance has suspended the NEU3/AUE7/FAL7 se
The freight rate correction gathered pace after carriers failed to defend their pre-Chinese New Year gains with the SCFI shedding 6.2% last week. Although the Red Sea dividend remain in play with spot rates still 96% higher compared to December last year, cargo demand has not rebounded sufficiently after the Chinese New Year holidays to provide rate support with carriers unable to mount a serious 1 March GRI attempt on the transpacific route ahead of the crucial annual contract negotiations. Tr
Freight rates surged across the board, with Transpacific SCFI rates rebounding sharply last week. MSC’s rate hike to $5,000/feu to the USWC and $6,900/feu to the USEC from 15 January jolted the rest of the carriers into following suit, with spot rates to both the West Coast and East Coast rising by over 40% last week. Zim has confirmed the introduction of a new PNW string from next week as it seeks to take advantage of the higher transpacific rates rates. SCFI rates made its 8th consecutive we
Transpacific freight rates have risen in tandem with European rates last week, rising to $2,553/feu to the West Coast and $3,559/feu to the East Coast, both breaching their 12 month highs. Capacity is expected to remain tight in the coming weeks, with reduced departures available in January especially on the US East Coast routes where the diversions to the Cape route will start to have an impact from week 3 onwards. Carriers are also switching ships away from the US West Coast to Europe where t