Even if you have money, you may not be able to ship goods! Suspension of flights, price increases, container shortages, port strikes...

The blockage of the Suez Canal at the end of March was like pouring a bucket of hot oil on the already hot global shipping market - it exploded! Shipping exports were about to create the "craziest summer in history."

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) hit a record high of 2,980 points last Friday, up 5.2% week-on-week.

The average global container freight rate has reached US$2,980 per TEU and may break through the US$3,000 mark this week.

According to the data summarized by Easy Shipping Schedule, as of April 22, a total of 92 voyages from Asia to North America/Europe and the Mediterranean were suspended in April and May 2021 (i.e., the first port of departure is within a total of 9 weeks from the 14th to the 22nd week).

Among them: 48 voyages to the West Coast of the United States, 19 voyages to the East Coast of the United States, 15 voyages to Northern Europe, and 10 voyages to the Mediterranean.

From the perspective of alliances, THE Alliance suspended 47 voyages, Ocean Alliance 21 voyages, 2M Alliance 16 voyages, and other independent routes 8 voyages.

The extent of the disruption to shipping caused by the Suez Canal blockage

(Number of delayed ships)

via: FT

According to the Shanghai spot freight (immediate contract) released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, the freight rate for shipment to the west coast of the United States is US$4,432 per 40-foot container, and the freight rate for shipment to the east coast of the United States is US$5,452, both of which have increased by more than 10% since the end of March when the grounding accident occurred, setting the highest price since 2009.

The congestion at the West Coast ports of the United States has never eased in the past few months. Now, some logistics companies have informed that there is basically no space for shipping to the United States in early May, which is close to paralysis and there is a large shortage of containers.

This was on April 16th. There were 21 container ships waiting to berth outside the Port of Los Angeles.

via: Brittany Chang/Insider

To make matters worse, on April 26, dock workers at the Port of Montreal, Canada's largest container port, announced the start of an indefinite strike , refusing to work overtime on weekdays and weekends.

In other words, all cargo loading and unloading and terminal services originally provided by dock workers at the Port of Montreal will be temporarily suspended.

The Montreal Port Authority said it deeply regrets the indefinite closure of port operations, which will seriously affect local residents and small businesses.

Last August, they also went on strike, resulting in the transfer of 20 ships to the Port of Halifax and a total of 80,000 TEU containers to other ports.

But this year, with North American ports congested along the coastline, where else can they move to?

On April 22, Maersk issued an announcement stating that its trans-Pacific route schedule was severely delayed in 2021, mainly due to continued congestion at North American ports.

The recent congestion at Asian ports, bad weather, and the Suez Canal congestion have exacerbated the situation.

This has directly resulted in ship turnaround times increasing by 2 to 3 weeks compared to normal circumstances, causing the interval between some voyages departing from Asia to exceed 7 days.

In the announcement, Maersk released adjusted voyages, adjusting the relevant voyages of 10 trans-Pacific routes.

It involves Chinese ports such as Qingdao, Ningbo, Yantian, Nansha, Xiamen and Hong Kong , and will be implemented from May this year.

Full announcement and route adjustments:

https://www.maersk.com/news/articles/2021/04/22/voyage-number-changes-to-asia-to-from-north-america

Monroe, founder of U.S. consulting firm Jon Monroe Consulting, said the Asian export market has collapsed: "Some shipping companies require you to send them booking requests every week, and then they will tell you whether they accept these requests seven to 10 days before the sailing."

“No matter how far in advance you book, it can get cancelled at the last minute and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

The Shanghai spot (immediate contract) freight rates released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange show that the price for shipment to Europe is US$4,187 per 20-foot container, an increase of more than 10%.

According to the Freightos-Baltic Index (FBX), the Nordic index rose 6% to US$7,791/FEU last week, a sharp increase of 450% compared with the same period last year.

A leading UK NVOCC said its “best” FAK price from China to the UK in May was $13,500/FEU – excluding surcharges.

Freight rates soar again

via: FT

At the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Europe's largest port, about 100 ships are waiting to enter.

Charlotte Cook, an analyst at VesselsValue in the UK, which provides ship data, said: "Ships stuck in Suez are pouring into the (Rotterdam) port and congestion will remain high in May."

Yantian Port suspends receiving export heavy containers 5 days after the port date

Foreign traders who have shipping plans in the near future please remind each other!

Foreign traders who are shipping this year, please cherish what you have!