Freight prices continue to fall - for the third straight time! European routes bucked the trend, rising 10%

Industry insiders said that the Christmas and New Year holidays in Europe and the United States are approaching, so the two months from late November to the end of December each year are the weakest period for container demand. Although global shipping companies have adopted the strategy of reducing flights and reducing cabin space, the market supply and demand are still unbalanced. As long as the volume of goods does not meet expectations, the rate will drop accordingly. Industry analysts, due to the impact of lower freight rates, shipping company revenue in the fourth quarter will also be affected.

Shipping industry insiders said that after the European line fell below the cost price of $1,000 per 20-foot container, there is no room for significant decline. Therefore, in the latest rates, even though the volume of European goods is not particularly good, the rate has not fallen. A number of freight forwarders said that there were rumors in the market that some ships were tight at the end of November. Some shipping companies have seized on the opportunity to raise rates again in December, hoping to adjust rates as small as possible

Price range without losing money.

As for the small volume of cargo on the US-West route, the spot market freight rate has fallen for three consecutive times, and once again approached the long-term contract price of some customers. As for the US-East route, due to the limited flight capacity reduction, it is also facing the challenge of increasing the space of non-alliance carriers. In the case of rushing to buy goods, under the epidemic, the freight rate is even about 13% lower than the same period in 2019 before the epidemic. There are rumors that shipping companies are waiting in the wings to push up prices on U.S. lines.

The fourth quarter is the traditional off-season of the European and American markets, but a large number of new ships have been launched, leading to the expansion of the imbalance between supply and demand in the market, testing whether the shipping industry can evaluate the situation, control shipping space, and maintain the "consensus" of freight rates even at the expense of loading rates. According to Sea-Intelligence research analysis, the AsiAn-American Trans-Pacific route and the Asia-Europe route are facing serious overcapacity problems.

In terms of ocean routes, the freight rate per TEU from the Far East to Kansai, Japan, and Kansai, Japan was the same as in the previous period, respectively 304 US dollars and 319 US dollars; The Far East to Southeast Asia rose $2 per TEU from the previous period to $196; The Far East to South Korea fell $2 per TEU to $137.