The Shipping Market 'Cooled Down' In March, And There Will Be A New Wave of Increases from April 1!

Recently, the shipping company Evergreen has swiped the screen in our foreign trade circle again-they held a board of directors on March 15, announcing that they will issue 1.303 billion NT dollars in employee compensation for the first time in 2022. Calculated based on the number of employees in 2020, 2017, the average per person You can get another 10 months of "mid-year bonus".

According to their chairman, the volume of long-term contracts on the US line accounts for about 60%-70%, and about 30% on the European line. This year, the freight rates of the long-term contracts on the American and European lines have doubled compared with last year, and customers are willing to sign contracts. The main reason is that it is expected that the effective capacity of the market will still be affected by the epidemic and port congestion, so many manufacturers are willing to use relatively high prices to lock the available space.

Recently, the "high fever" in the shipping market has been cooling down, and the freight rate of container shipping has been falling for 10 consecutive weeks.

According to the latest data released by the Shanghai Stock Exchange on March 25, the latest issue of the Shanghai Export Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) was 4434.07 points, down 106.24 points or 2.3% from the previous week, hitting the lowest point since the end of August last year. The freight rates of major routes all fell to varying degrees.

Among them, the Far East to Europe line fell for nine consecutive years, and the freight rate per TEU fell by US$204 to US$6,593, a decrease of 3%, which continued to hit a new low since mid-July last year, and the freight rate of the European line fell by 15.8% in the past two months. Far East to Mediterranean per TEU fell $114, or 1.6%, to $6,921.

The freight rate from the Far East to the West of the United States fell for three consecutive weeks. The freight rate per FEU fell by US$63 to US$7,960 compared with the previous week. It was the first time since February 11 this year that it fell below US$8,000. The freight rate from the Far East to the United States continued to fall by US$130 to US$10,504/FEU, hitting a new low since the end of November last year. In addition, the freight rate per TEU from the Far East to Singapore fell by $37, or 3.2%, to $1,098.

However, on April 1, we will usher in another round of increases in sea freight.

First, for well-known reasons, oil energy prices jumped. Lars Jensen, CEO of industry consultancy Vespucci Maritime, pointed out that the increase in bunker fuel prices has a very clear negative impact on international maritime logistics. When there is a shortage of ships for international shipping, shipowners are likely to adopt strategies to reduce shipping speed and increase shipping prices.

At present, most ocean carriers will gradually add a 25% fuel surcharge (BAF) to their shipping costs.

MSC issued a notice on March 14 that from April 15, 2022, MSC will change from monthly to two-week rates for all Asian-traded spot and quarterly contracts until conditions stabilize Global fuel surcharge recalculated until further notice.

Egypt has just announced that it will increase the "tolls" of the Suez Canal for the third time this year. On March 22, the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority announced an adjustment to the previous round of price increases. , Two rounds of price increases were launched on March 1, and the new round of pricing will take effect from May 1.

By then, the "tolls" for ships such as oil tankers will be more expensive, or have an impact on the global trade situation.

Traders should also note that, generally speaking, freight rates will show signs of "seasonal strengthening" from April, plus issues such as the exchange of U.S. line lengths in May and the negotiation between U.S. and West dockers in June, from the third quarter. The container shipping market will officially enter the peak season, ushering in substantial demand strengthening.