The freight rate is soaring and the port is blocked!

According to data from the Baltic Freight Index (FBX), the Asia-Northern Europe Index rose 3.6% from the previous week to $8,455 per FEU, a 145% increase since the beginning of December last year, and a 428% increase over the same period last year.

This week, Drewry's global container freight index rose 1.1% to US$5,249.80/FEU. The Shanghai-Los Angeles spot freight rate rose by 3% to US$4,348/FEU.
New York-Rotterdam freight increased by 2% to $750/FEU. In addition, the Shanghai-Rotterdam freight rate increased by 2% to USD 8,608/FEU, and the freight rate from Los Angeles to Shanghai increased by 1% to USD 554/FEU.

Ports and traffic congestion and chaos in Europe and the United States have reached their peak.
Shipping costs soar, EU retailers face shortages

At present, some European ports including Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Antwerp have experienced port congestion, which has caused cargo accumulation and ship delays.

In the past four weeks, the cost of shipping from China to Europe has risen four times due to tight space. Affected by this, the inventories of retailers in various industries such as household goods and toys in Europe have become tight.

A Freightos survey of 900 small and medium-sized companies shows that 77% of companies face tight supply. IHS Markit's survey shows that supplier delivery time continues to extend, setting a record since 1997. The tight supply not only affects the retail side, but also has an impact on manufacturing companies within the euro zone.

The European Commission said, “In the current situation, many factors may cause prices to rise, including demand fluctuations in global staggered markets, port congestion and container shortages.” “We are discussing with market participants to fully understand the current situation and Consider the future direction."

Congestion in North America is intensified and severe weather has worsened

Congestion in Los Angeles/Long Beach may spread across the west coast of the United States, and the congestion at all major terminals has further deteriorated. The congestion at the two major terminals in the west has set a record.

Due to the new crown epidemic, the productivity of coastal labor has declined, leading to ship delays, and the average delay of port facilities is 8 days. Gene Seroka, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, said at a press conference: “Under normal circumstances, before the surge in imports, we usually see 10 to 12 container ship berths in the Port of Los Angeles a day. Today, we handle an average of 15 per day. A container ship."

“At present, about 15% of the ships heading to Los Angeles will be directly anchored. 85% of the ships will drop anchor and the average waiting time has been increasing. The ship has been anchored for about two and a half days from November last year to the current February. The parking time is 8 days."

Container terminals, freight companies, railways and warehouses are all over-operated. The port is expected to process 730,000 teu in February, an increase of 34% over the same period last year. It is expected that the port will reach 775,000 teu of cargo in March.

According to data from LA's Signal, 140,425 teu of cargo will be unloaded at the port this week, an increase of 86.41% year-on-year. The forecast next week is 185,143 teu and next week is 165,316 teu.

Container liners are looking for alternative ports on the west coast and transferring vessels or changing the order of port calls. The Northwest Seaport Alliance of Oakland and Tacoma-Seattle has reported high-level negotiations with carriers on new services.

At present, there are 10 ships waiting in Auckland; 16 ships in Savannah are waiting, which is double the pressure compared to 10 ships a week.

Like other North American ports, due to the impact of snowstorms, the increase in the retention time of imported goods and the large inventory of empty containers continue to affect the turnover of the New York terminal.

Railway transportation was also affected, and some node services were closed.