04 Dec Spot rates continue to fall, blank sailings rise
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 up to 70 vessels in the region and created a backlog that will take up to two or three weeks to resolve, this is unlikely to have an impact on rates.
Ocean freight rates to both coasts had been easing in the lead up to the strike, and continued to do so during the closures, with rates more than 30% below highs reached in July.
This downward trend is expected to continue moving forward as the ILA strike is over and peak season demand diminishes, though east coast congestion caused by the strike may slow the pace of the decline while operations recover.
According to Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI), spot rates on the Shanghai-New York spot rates were down 3% week on week, while Shanghai-Los Angeles was down 5% week on week. The Xeneta XSI transpacific route similarly declined 2.5%.
However, shipping companies have commenced increasing the number of blanked sailings on the main east-west trades as demand slackens and to avoid a further build-up of congestion on the US east coast.
Drewry’s weekly blank sailings tracker stated there were 69 sailings cancelled between 14 October and 17 November across the transpacific, transatlantic and Asia- Europe trades, out of a total of 693 scheduled sailings, representing a 10% cancellation rate, with 58% of the blank sailings on the transpacific eastbound, 26% on Asia-Europe and 16% on the transatlantic westbound trade.
FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS!
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.