Despite the muted trading activity since China's new year holiday, spot rates on most major east-west ocean trades continued to show slight declines. In recent weeks, Drewry's World Container Index (WCI), transpacific routes and Xeneta's XSI Far East-North Europe route all saw spot rates fall. The...
The new year has seen multiple ocean carriers announce new surcharges, from ‘Labor Interruption Surcharges’ through to ‘Emergency Operational Surcharges’ and more, all due to commence mid-January on the North Europe to US trade lane. These are all due to activate at the same time...
According to the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index, spot freight rates between Shanghai and Melbourne dipped to their lowest level since mid-August in the first week of December, reaching 3700FEU. Given the subdued state of the Australian retail economy this decline was anticipated sooner, however rates were...
A more detailed examination of the Australia-China rates shows a slight recovery in spot rates in the third week of October, after several weeks of (mostly) falls. The Shanghai Containerised Freight Index increased slightly to USD 4052/FEU, up from USD 3932/FEU in the week prior, and...
Container spot freight rates on the main trades out of Asia have continued to fall as the postponement of the ILA strike eased industry concerns about the potential ramifications of the industrial action. Whilst some congestion did result from the three-day ILA strike which has affected...
Recent data indicates a downward trend in freight rates around the globe, with prices taking a steady tumble ahead of what is traditionally the commencement of the peak trading period. Here we take a closer look at the various geographical regions: Asia-Europe An early peak season that...
The strong demand being experienced across Asia's export trade lanes is utilising a large amount of capacity being provided by shipping companies, which is causing tension in the quest to balance three main factors: high market demand, long transit times due to Red Sea diversions...
Ongoing Red Sea diversions, which have created longer shipping distances and times, are resulting in continual freight rate increases that continue unabated across numerous trade routes. The subsequent disruptions, including vessel bunching and port processing delays, are being experienced at both ends of the Asia-Europe trade...
The latest Drewry World Container Index (WCI) increased by 2% to US$4801 per 40-foot container this week, which is 238% higher than average 2019 (pre-pandemic) rates of US$1420. The average composite index for the year to date is US$3443 per 40-foot container, which is $707 higher...
The complexity of the situation in the Red Sea, a critical route for approximately 30% of the world's container traffic, has continued to cause disruption on a global scale. Furthermore, the combination of the challenges across both the Red Sea and Suez Canal over the recent...