Global trade is sluggish in 2020, and trade volume has shrunk. However, since the third quarter of last year, a strange phenomenon has occurred in global shipping, that is, “lack of boxes” “Fewer containers”, the price of containers has risen sharply. Global trade has begun to recover this year. The World Trade Organization predicts that the growth rate of global trade will reach 8%. Some countries have even launched a buy-buy mode to buy goods all over the world. This makes global shipping even more difficult to find.
However, what you need to know is that this is not because there are really too few containers, but because it is caused by humans. Due to insufficient manpower, containers at ports in many countries are piling up in mountains. However, ports in some countries are “thirsty for containers”, which can be described as “ice and fire”.
First of all, in terms of production capacity, China is the world’s largest container producer. 100% of the world’s refrigerated containers and 96% of dry cargo containers are Made in China. It can produce about 400,000 pieces every month, which means it can produce nearly 5 million pieces a year. But the problem is that there are currently more than 40 million containers in operation around the world. If the port boxes are blocked and cannot be dealt with in time, the fundamental problem will still be difficult to solve.
So, to what extent has the container congestion problem at global ports reached? CCTV Finance reported in early June that at least 7 of the 10 busiest ports in the United States often face congestion. For example, in California, there are as many as 10,000 to 15,000 containers stranded in the area.
The empty containers have not had time to be processed, and there is a steady stream of containers that need to be loaded and unloaded, which will only make the port congestion problem worse. Taking the Sandro Bay port on the west coast of the United States as an example, the containers it handles loading and unloading in Asia have set a new record for 11 consecutive months, reaching 1.9 million TEUs. In May last year, this number was only 1.2 million TEUs.
Except the United States, many developed countries are facing port container congestion problems. For example, the Port of Auckland in New Zealand has a backlog of nearly 6,000 empty containers at its peak; Australian ports have more than 50,000; the containers at the Port of Felixstowe in the United Kingdom have spread to surrounding suburbs…
On the other hand, many ports in Asia often face the situation of “hard to find a container”. Why is this happening? Because this region is a major commodity producer, a large part of the various commodities imported by developed countries such as Europe and the United States come from here. However, after the goods are exported to developed countries such as Europe and the United States, it is difficult to return the boxes on time, resulting in a situation of “hard to find a box”.
The main reason for the current global shipping shortage of containers and containers is indeed the lack of manpower and the failure to deal with container congestion at ports in a timely manner. However, this is also related to the recovery of global trade, which to some extent is a good sign. In particular, the United States, as the world’s largest importer of goods, has been buying goods all over the world since this year. Japan, China, Vietnam and other countries are all beneficiaries.
According to data released by Japan, in May, the country’s foreign exports reached 6.26 trillion yen (approximately 365.7 billion yuan), a surge of nearly 50 %, of which the total value of goods exported to the United States reached 1.1 trillion yen, a year-on-year increase of 87.9%. The beautiful export data will undoubtedly provide assistance to Japan’s economic growth.
As for China, in the first five months of this year, my country’s total merchandise exports to the United States reached 1.34 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.9%. This growth rate It is the highest among my country’s major trading partners.
In addition, Vietnam’s exports of goods to the United States also grew very strongly in the first five months of this year, with a year-on-year increase of 49.8%, totaling US$37.6 billion. The United States’ explosive purchase of Vietnamese goods has undoubtedly promoted the country’s economic development. After all, more than a quarter of Vietnam’s goods are exported to the United States. The latest data shows that thanks to the rebound in global demand, Vietnam’s economy grew by 6.61% year-on-year in the second quarter of this year, an increase of nearly 2 percentage points compared with the first quarter (4.65%), and the recovery momentum is good.
Of course, our country itself is also the main “buyer” of global commodities. Thanks to its economy taking the lead in recovery, China assumes greater responsibilities in the global industrial and supply chains. While Chinese products meet the needs of many countries, they are also bought from all over the world. Data show that in the first five months of this year, my country spent 6.72 trillion yuan on imported goods, a year-on-year increase of 25.9%.
It can be said that my country is becoming a “stabilizer” for global economic and trade. According to WTO data, my country’s foreign trade market share has reached 13.2% in 2019. The latest forecast data also shows that China’s share of global exports this year is expected to increase from nearly 15% last year to 16.2%, continuing to maintain its position as the world’s largest export country.
In short, although global shipping is a world of ice and fire, ports in developed countries such as Europe and the United States are congested with containers, and many ports in Asia are “hard to find a container”, this The situation may be difficult to improve in the short term, but it cannot stop the momentum of global trade recovery, which also reflects the recovery of the global economy.
According to a report released by the World Bank, in 2021, the global economy is expected to recover strongly from last year’s recession, with an expected growth of 5.6%. The bank’s forecast for China’s GDP growth is 8.5%, China is still one of the fastest growing countries among major economies.
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