There is no fresh direction on the transpacific, with rates continuing to erode. Although the SCFI rates to the USWC held above $4,000 per feu, carriers are offering special rates that were as much as $500 lower than these FAK rates in order to secure additional volumes. The recent rate correction has weakened carriers’ bargaining position for the new service contract that will start from May 2024 with final contract rate levels expected at below $2,000/feu against benchmark rates of $1,200-1,6
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
The Red Sea crisis continues to drive the container market as the number of ships diverted to the Cape route hit a fresh high with no signs of abating. This will continue to create a capacity shortage across all routes, with the Cape diversions and incremental capacity needed to connect to Red Sea and Med ports already soaking up more than 7% of the global containership fleet. Freight rates retained most of the January gains, with the SCFI shedding only 5.8% of its pre-Chinese New Year peak whil
There were no SCFI and CCFI publication last week due to the Chinese holidays but the WCI, Platts and FBX showed transpacific rates are largely holding to their pre-holiday gains. Smaller carriers such as Zim and Yang Ming have carried over their lower rates on offer, along with Maersk who has continued to push out preferential rates on selected sailings but the majority of the carriers have not slashed their spot rates knowing it will not generate additional bookings during the post-holiday sl
Transpacific rates eased after 10 consecutive weekly gains that saw spot rates surge by over 200%. Rates to the West Coast dropped below $5,000/feu but are still holding at healthy levels compared to the $1,200-1,300/feu rates that were prevalent in the same period last year. Rates to the East Coast also dropped below $6,500/feu bit is also well above the $2,400-2,600/feu rates from last year. Capacity to both West Coast and East Coast will remain tight in March, with only smaller carriers li
Transpacific freight rates defied market expectations with further rate hikes coming at the end of January after COSCO and MSC pushed ahead with their FAK rate increases from 1 February with the other carriers finally deciding to follow suit. Although some carriers have started to offer rate discounts on selected sailings in February, the increased FAK rates have raised overall market levels which will hold at least until the first week of February before a larger correction sets in after the C
Be aware if you have been expecting interest rate cut this year: Ocean freight that may have contributed to a chunk of inflation during 2021-2022 have staged a come back. Looking back the past few years, the correlation between freight-to-cargo ratio and US inflation averaged 74%. The take-off in May 2020 and peak in July 2022 of the two lines coincide with each other while the flooring of the freight-to-cargo ratio led the US inflation by few months. The swing from May 2020 to July 2022 for t
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
The Panama Canal disruptions failed to stop rates to the US East Coast from slipping last week, with THE Alliance carriers the main casualties from the reduced transit slots. 2M and OCEAN Alliance services are not affected as yet with only minimal delays on their Panama services. East Coast capacity remains sufficient to meet market demand despite draft restrictions that has limited full container intake for the Panama passage. Rates to the West Coast rose slightly last week but uneven utiliza
The rise in the SCFI rates to the US West Coast masks rapidly deteriorating conditions on the route, with utilization levels falling to 81%. The “Express” services have performed poorly including the Zim e-Commerce Express (ZEX) that was only half full on its first 2 sailings following its relaunch in November. Rates to the East Coast are performing better despite a similar drop in capacity utilization, with carriers able to secure premiums due to the Panama congestion even with transit times