Three months of gains fell in 3 days
A few days ago, Ma Yong, the person in charge of a freight company in Ningbo, said that the shipping price from Ningbo Port and Shanghai Port to the West Coast of the United States It fell sharply, “three days lost three months of gains.”
Data provided by Zeng Yuanli, an employee of Sinotrans Co., Ltd., show that from June last year to early September this year, sea freight rates continued to rise, and 20-foot standard containers shipped from eastern China The price from coastal ports to the West Coast of the United States (referred to as the “West Coast Line”) has increased from US$1,000 to US$10,000, with the highest price reaching US$15,000;
The prices of other routes have also skyrocketed. , the price of sea freight to the Middle East rose from US$300 to US$4,500.
Ma Yong said that the price of sea freight on the US-Western Line “should currently be a little more than 12,000 US dollars per TEU, which is almost the price 3 months ago.” .
Why did the soaring sea freight suddenly drop?
According to media statistics, at least 16 provinces in China have introduced power rationing measures of varying intensity. Jiangsu, Guangdong and Zhejiang, the most industrialized provinces, are most affected by the blackout movement.
Due to the long-term main production of energy-intensive products such as steel, plastics, home appliances, chemicals and textiles, the energy consumption of these three provinces has seriously exceeded standards.
It is worth noting that these provinces also have China’s busiest ports, Ningbo, Guangzhou, Nansha, Yantian and Shekou. Jiangsu Province and Ningbo, located in the Yangtze River Delta region, operate a lot of container export business.
Foreign media TheLoadstar said that since it is now the peak season for shipping containers to the United States and Europe, the power rationing movement may exacerbate delays in receiving freight at ports.
Linerlytica analyst Tan Hua Joo said the power rationing movement will have an impact on factory production, which will definitely affect container shipping volumes in the short term. It’s unclear how long the power cuts will be in place, so it’s impossible to predict the long-term impact.
Wang Kai, a foreign trade logistics service company in Huizhou, said, “There has been a sharp decline in maritime logistics recently, mainly due to power cuts, which has caused factories to The goods cannot be shipped. The whole market is out of goods, so the price of containers cannot be speculated.”
In this regard, Zeng Yuanli put forward a different view. He said, “I did a small survey in Cixi and Yuyao a few days ago. Some companies that make conversion plugs and extension cords had a holiday before the National Day. The warehouses could not hold the goods produced before, which cost tens of millions or even more than 100 yuan. Hundreds of millions of dollars in inventory are waiting to be shipped out.”
In addition, Zeng Yuanli said that the decline in sea freight rates also depends on the route. The West American line is falling, but the South Asia line continues to rise.
The reason for the drop in sea freight rates on the US-Western Line is that many ships returned to China during the National Day, and the positions increased; in addition, the positions from October 1st to 7th must be sold before the National Day. Selling them together squeezes a little bit of the price out of them.
Freight forwarding: sea freight prices change every day
September 26 , at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on accelerating the construction of new infrastructure in the field of transportation, Sun Wenjian, spokesperson of the Ministry of Transport and head of the Policy Research Office, said that in response to the increase in sea freight, “a box is hard to find” , the Ministry of Transport actively cooperates with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to coordinate my country’s container manufacturing enterprises to increase production efforts, and coordinate liner companies to speed up the return transportation of empty containers.
The current monthly container production capacity has increased from the previous 200,000 TEUs to a record high of 500,000 TEUs. “With the release of new container production capacity in my country, the turnover of empty containers has accelerated. According to reports from major liner companies, the shortage of empty containers has been basically alleviated.”
In addition, Sun Wenjian said, Encourage Chinese cargo owners and liner companies to actively negotiate and sign long-term transportation contracts, “the interests of both parties can be protected, and at the same time it can stabilize market prices.”
He gave an example It said that at the beginning of this year, a Chinese company signed a long-term contract with a relevant shipping group, and the price of each box was around US$2,600.
As for the future price trend of sea freight, Zeng Yuanli said that some people who previously stocked up containers for speculation were afraid of being hit in their hands and were eager to make a move. Some people may To lose.
Liu Guofeng, the person in charge of a freight company in Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, said frankly that it is difficult to predict the future price trend. It’s also very chaotic, changing every day.”</p
