At present, the severe global epidemic situation continues to have an impact on the shipping industry!
•The spread of the Omicron strain in the United States is accelerating. Currently, the average daily number of confirmed cases in the United States exceeds 700,000, and the cumulative number of confirmed cases has exceeded 60 million.
•Confirmed cases have appeared in Ningbo, Shenzhen, Tianjin and other places in China.
•Researchers at the University of Cyprus suspected of discovering a recombinant new coronavirus strain of Delta and Omicron locally, naming it “Deltacron”. There are 25 people infected with the new strain, and as many as 14 of them are hospitalized.
The three major alliances canceled 44 voyages, suspended sailings and jumped to ports before the Spring Festival, and space was tight
According to the latest data released by Drewry, in the next four weeks (weeks 2-5), the world’s three major shipping alliances have successively canceled multiple voyages. Among them, THE alliance has canceled the most voyages, with 20.5 voyages; the 2M alliance has reached 15 sailings; the least Ocean Alliance canceled 8.5 sailings; a total of 44 sailings.
Drewry expects rates to climb higher in the coming week due to the Lunar New Year.
Asia to North America: The large-scale spread of new mutant strains has led to the worsening of the epidemic in the United States, and the future economic recovery may be weak. Transportation demand remains high heading into the New Year.
The average space utilization rate of ships in Shanghai Port continues to be close to the full load level. The market freight rates of Shanghai Port’s US West and US East routes maintain a good trend.
Due to serious shortage of transportation capacity/equipment, space is tight. The freight peak before the Spring Festival further pushes up the price of priority transportation, and some urgent shippers are willing to pay sky-high prices to ensure space.
Relative to demand, capacity and voyages are relatively limited, mainly due to severe port congestion, which has led to delayed voyages, accumulated delays and multiple suspensions.
Asia to Europe: The epidemic continues to spread on a large scale in many European countries, the number of new confirmed cases every day continues to hit new highs, and demand continues to remain high. The epidemic has led to a slowdown in the recovery of the supply chain system, shipping spaces continue to be in a tight situation, and market freight rates are hovering at high levels.
In view of the traditional peak season of the Spring Festival, it is expected that price increases may also be implemented in the second half of January.
Persian Gulf route: The epidemic situation has rebounded, but the overall epidemic situation is better than that in Europe and the United States. The demand in the transportation market remains good and the relationship between supply and demand is stable. Booking prices in the spot market fell slightly.
Australia-New Zealand route: The epidemic broke out on a large scale. The number of daily confirmed cases has hit new highs in recent times. Transportation demand is hovering at a high level, and the fundamentals of supply and demand are good. The market freight rate trend is improving.
South American routes: The Omicron mutant strain continues to spread, and the epidemic situation in major destination countries is more severe. The relationship between supply and demand is good, and the market freight rate remains stable this week.
Japan route: Transportation demand is basically stable, and market freight rates are trending well.
Matson’s suspension of sailings may usher in a new round of freight rate increases
Due to the epidemic at the destination port and the infection of CLX crew members, all crews were quarantined and sailing was suspended. The CLX+ ships were unable to return in time; CCX was empty, so Matson Steamship ETD was originally scheduled to suspend sailing on 1.19/1.20. The next boat leaves at 1.26 or 1.27.
The suspension of sailings will face more severe challenges for export shipping schedules. The entire US line’s shipping space continues to be tight, and market demand and shipping space are still in a serious imbalance between supply and demand. It is expected that this situation will further deteriorate due to the arrival of the peak shipment volume on the eve of the Spring Festival, which may lead to another wave of increases in market freight rates.
As the Spring Festival approaches, some barge services in southern China will be suspended, but logistics demand remains strong. Global supply chains continue to face congestion and disruptions, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to trigger widespread economic challenges.
At the same time, the capacity of the container industry remains constrained. The disruption of inland transportation services in the United States has greatly inhibited the supply chain capacity. At the same time, port congestion has also greatly reduced the efficiency of ship capacity turnover.
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