Shipping prices are high and the difficulty of finding a container is still difficult to alleviate.
“Currently, bookings need to be made about a month in advance before space is available. For a shipment we exported to Vietnam this month, if we booked it more than a week in advance, we would already be late for this month’s shipping schedule.” said the relevant person in charge of the export sales department of a company in Guangzhou People say so. Entering the Year of the Tiger, many foreign trade companies in Guangzhou have started operations one after another. However, the reporter’s investigation found that the “box problem” is difficult to solve, and the tight shipping space and high prices still plague foreign trade companies. China’s export container freight index reached a new high of 3587.91 points in the last issue. Although the index fell in the latest period.
Behind the problems of shipping container capacity and freight rates is the imbalance of supply and demand caused by the global epidemic. As for shipping prices that have been soaring for two years, industry insiders and industry analysts predict that overall freight rates will remain high in 2022.
Post-holiday: Many routes need to book space 1 month in advance
The relevant person in charge of the export department of a chemical manufacturing company located in Nansha, Guangzhou told reporters that the company went into production on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, and orders are currently very popular. However, the problem of tight shipping space and high prices has not been alleviated. Recently, there are goods to be exported to Australia. Although the space has been booked in advance, the shipping date is still delayed by more than a week.
Since 2020, shipping space has become increasingly tight and prices have continued to rise. It reached a peak in the second half of last year and has not eased since then. This is the case for global shipping. Take the current domestic shipping price to Southeast Asian countries as an example. Compared with 2020, the price has increased by 1 to 2 times.
Another company, Alice Living Products Co., Ltd. located in Guangzhou, mainly exports small household appliances, storage supplies, etc. According to the relevant person in charge of the company’s international sales department, the shipping tensions in different destinations after the holiday will vary. For example, shipping to the United States will still maintain the same tension as before the holiday, but routes exported to some Southeast Asian countries will ease slightly. But it’s still hard to say loose.
“In the past, you could get your space a week in advance when booking, but from the second half of last year until now, booking for export to countries such as the United States or Southeast Asia requires a long time in advance. It usually takes about a month in advance. We are exporting to Vietnam this month. For a shipment of goods, if I book a shipment more than a week in advance, I will already miss the shipping date this month.” The person said.
Prices also remain high. For example, the container shipping price from Shenzhen Port to New York Port, although there was a price drop in January, as the shipment volume rebounded after the holiday, the price per container was US$2,000 more expensive than before the holiday, reaching US$15,000, and it is still rising. . It has increased four to five times compared to the beginning of 2020, when the container price on this route was around US$3,000.
In the latest Drewry freight index, freight rates from Shanghai to the West Coast increased by 2%.
Pay attention to the latest Baltic Container Freight Index (FBX) in this issue. The data shows that the spot container freight rates on the Asia-to-US West and Asia-to-US East routes have increased again; while the Asia-to-US West route has increased by 3% to US$15,615/FEU. FBX data shows:
•The freight rate from China to the US East is US$17,901 per 40 feet, which is higher than US$16,893 in the previous period, an increase of 6%.
Response: Export product prices rise, book space in advance and compete for space at high prices
According to public data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, the “arrival and departure service punctuality rate” of global trunk routes from Asia to the West Coast of the United States was only 11% in January, continuing to remain at a low level. Prices continue to hit new highs. Public data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange shows that on February 11, China’s export container freight index hit a new high of 3,587.91 points.
Looking forward to the market outlook, industry insiders believe that from the perspective of shipping demand and capacity supply, the overall freight rate is expected to remain high in 2022. “Affected by the recent rebound of the epidemic abroad, shipping prices are expected to rise again. However, in the medium and long term, it is expected to gradually ease.” The aforementioned person in charge of Alice also said the same.
A report released by global shipping giant Maersk at the beginning of the year pointed out that the company will still have difficulties in transporting cargo globally this year as easing shipping congestion takes longer than it originally expected.
A recent relevant research report from Huatai Securities also pointed out that the outlook for 202In 2 years, the high prosperity of the container transportation market is expected to continue, mainly due to the decline in supply chain turnover efficiency, port congestion and other problems that are difficult to alleviate in the short term.
The tight shipping space has affected the timeliness of shipments, and the consistently high shipping prices have affected the profits of many foreign trade companies. During the interview, most export companies responded by raising prices for some products, and at the same time, customers confirmed shipping plans in advance and booked space in advance. “If there is an emergency, we can only grab space at a high price.” A person in charge of shipping at an export company also revealed. Since this trouble has lasted for more than a year, both companies and customers have become accustomed to this situation.
Profits of shipping concept stocks soared
Shipping prices have soared for two years, and shipping companies have made a “magnificent turn” from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market, making huge profits.
There are 13 A-share concept stocks mainly engaged in shipping business, 10 of which have announced 2021 annual performance forecasts, 8 have pre-increased, COSCO Shipping Holdings, CSC Phoenix, COSCO Shipping Development, China Grain Logistics, COSCO Shipping Special are expected to return to the parent company Net profit doubled.
As China’s largest shipping company, COSCO Shipping Holdings’ 2021 performance forecast shows that the company will achieve a net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies in 2021 of approximately RMB 89.28 billion, a year-on-year increase of approximately 799.3%.
CSC Phoenix’s performance forecast shows that the company is expected to achieve a net profit attributable to the parent company of 0.8 to 120 million yuan in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 659.81% to 1039.71%.
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