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17 Mar 2024

Mexico Could be Back Door for Chinese Imports into US

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Growth in demand for container shipping imports from China into Mexico in January 2024 increased by 60% compared to 12 months ago, further fuelling suspicions it has become a back door into the US.According to analysts at Xeneta, 117,000 TEU was shipped in January of this year compared to 73,000 TEU in January 2023 (source: Container Trades Statistics).Annual growth in container shipping between China and Mexico had already increased by 34.8% in 2023 compared to just 3.5% in 2022.Peter Sand


16 Feb 2024

Red Sea: Far East-US Spiraling Ocean Freight Rates Set for Decline

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Spiraling ocean freight rates from the Far East to the United States, caused by the Red Sea crisis, may have peaked, with some relief on the horizon emerging for the shippers, according to the latest analysis from Xeneta, and ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform.The latest data released by Xeneta indicates a peak may have been reached after spot rates from the Far East into the US declined slightly since the last round of General Rate Increases (GRIs) were implemented at the start of February.Into the US East Coast


28 Dec 2023

Red Sea Shipping Workarounds Add Costs, Delays for Suppliers

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Toymaker Basic Fun's team that oversees ocean shipments of Tonka trucks and Care Bears for Walmart and other retailers is racing to reroute cargo away from the Suez Canal following militant attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.Suppliers for the likes of IKEA, Home Depot, Amazon and retailers around the world are doing the same as businesses grapple with the biggest shipping upheaval since the COVID-19 pandemic threw global supply chains into disarray, sources in the logistics industry said.Florida-based Basic Fun usually ships all Europe-bound toys from its China factories via the Suez Canal


22 Dec 2023

MacGregor Cargo Handling Equipment Ordered for Matson Containerships

(File photo courtesy Philly Shipyard)

MacGregor announced on Friday it has landed a contract from SM Solutions/Philly Shipyard to supply cargo handling solutions for three 1,822 FEU sized containerships.MacGregor’s scope of supply encompasses design, hardware and supply for hatch covers, lashing bridges, deck stanchions, fixed and removable cell guides in hold and container fixed fittings. Deliveries are scheduled to commence during the fourth quarter of 2024 and completed within 2026, the company said."We are excited about this order


02 Aug 2023

Mixed Fortunes on Far East to Europe Trades

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With the peak ocean freight cargo season approaching, the latest data from Oslo-based Xeneta shows mixed fortunes, and outlooks, for the two main Far East to Europe trade corridors.Xeneta’s analysis reveals that shippers opting for the Far East – Mediterranean route are currently paying a spot rate premium compared to those choosing a North European option. There are also clear implications for long-term contracts, explains Peter Sand, Chief Analyst at Xeneta, across two very similar routes


31 May 2023

Container Shipping Rate Collapse Continues

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The ocean freight industry saw a slump in global long-term rates of unprecedented proportions in May, as the contracted cost of shipping containers fell by 27.5%. The development, detailed by Xeneta’s Shipping Index (XSI), marks the ninth consecutive month of rates drops, and is the largest ever monthly fall recorded on the XSI.“If industry observers were left wondering just how bad it could get for carriers after the 10% fall in long-term rates seen in April, here’s the answer,” said Patrik Berglund, CEO of Oslo-based Xeneta.

21 Mar 2023

Global Freight Slump Deepens At the Start of 2023

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Global freight movements continued to dwindle in the first two months of 2023 as manufacturers and distributors struggled to reduce excess inventories and cope with rising interest rates and increased caution among buyers.Container flows fell further in January and February compared with the same months a year earlier, showing the inventory-liquidation cycle was not over yet:Singapore’s seaborne container shipments were down 6% in February compared with a year earlier, one of the steepest falls since the first wave of the pandemic.Japan’s air cargo through Narita airport


09 Dec 2022

Ocean Freight Spot Rates Out of Far East Plummet - Xeneta

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The ocean freight rate landscape in the Far East has been completely redrawn since the start of the year, with spot rates plummeting by an average of 75% across the six major trading lanes, Xeneta said in its latest report.By comparison, long-term rates are proving more resilient, with a fall of ‘just’ 13%, the ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform said Friday. Role reversalThe latest analysis from Oslo-based Xeneta highlights a market in flux. Since early summer, spot rates have fallen from historical highs.

17 Nov 2022

Backhaul Spot Rates Sink Below January 2020 Levels

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The collapse in spot rates on fronthaul trades has caught the headlines, but shippers on certain backhaul trades have seen equally large drops, with some trades having seen spot rates fall for much longer than on the fronthaul and have fallen below rates in January 2020, Xeneta shows in its latest weekly container freight rate update.From North Europe to the Far East, the average rate for a standard FEU has fallen to $820 per FEU. This is down by more than $1,000 per FEU (-56%) from its peak in May 2021, having fallen pretty consistently since then.

31 Oct 2022

Reefers Riding Out Spot Rate Storm Better Than Dry Containers -Xeneta

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Reefer spot rates are proving more resilient than dry container prices on exports from North Europe, with slow declines as opposed to dramatic drops. According to the latest market analysis from Oslo-based Xeneta, all main trades from the region have experienced falls over the past three months. However, unlike the dry market, the routes are still commanding higher rates than this point last year, pushing the reefer ‘premium’ over standard containers to new heights.Standing (relatively) strong â€œThis reefer spot rate market is clearly not in the same straits as its dry sibling


22 Sep 2022

Collapsing Spot Rates, Falling Capacity define Far East to U.S. Container Trade

Capacity And Blank Sailing: Far East to the US West Coast. Chart courtesy Xeneta

In its latest Container Freight Rate Update note, Xeneta covers the average capacity and blank sailings on the Far East to the US West Coast while we head into the not-so-traditional peak season.The average capacity offered from the Far East to the US West Coast has fallen to its lowest since February in the past four weeks. Over this period, an average of 275,000 TEU has left the Far East heading for the US West Coast, about 50,000 TEU less than the peak in early August.Compared to the same four weeks in 2021


19 Aug 2022

Rollercoaster Containershipping Rates Continue, says Xeneta

South American spot rate gap set to narrow as shippers take advantage of lower Far East to West Coast ratesThe latest ocean freight rate data from Xeneta reveals that spot rates are currently $3,700 more expensive for shipping 40-ft. containers from the Far East to the South American East Coast, compared to the West Coast corridor. This huge gap – the norm is usually around a $55 East Coast premium – has opened up since 1 July. However, shippers looking to take advantage of the disparity should move quickly


15 Jul 2022

Container Shipping: "Fluctuating fortunes for Ocean and Air Freight out of Far East

“Certainly, as far as ocean freight rates are concerned, the long-term market tends to play catch-up with the spot market, with around a three-month delay,” said Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta. Photo courtesy Xeneta

While spot rates head in the right direction for ocean freight from the Far East to the South America East coast, short-term air freight rates are failing to take off on major intra-Asian and long haul trades, according to Xeneta.“Certainly, as far as ocean freight rates are concerned, the long-term market tends to play catch-up with the spot market, with around a three-month delay,” said Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta. “So, for example, the fall in spot rates we began to see in January on trades from the Far East to South America was reflected in April and the following months.

27 Apr 2022

Container Rates: Diverging Trends for Far East to Mediterranean vs North Europe - Xeneta

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In contrast to spot rates on the Far East to North Europe trade which have fallen by more than USD 3,600 per FEU [Forty-Foot-Equivalent-Unit ] since the start of the year, those to the Mediterranean have seen a much smaller decline, falling by just USD 850 per FEU, Xeneta said in a report on Wednesday.According to Xeneta, the spot rate from the Far East to the Mediterranean stood at USD 13,100 on April 26, whereas the spot rate to North Europe was USD 11,100 per FEU.This in turn means that it is now USD 2


24 Mar 2022

Most Containership Spot Rates Tower Above Long Term Contracts - Xeneta

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The Far East to South American East Coast trade is the only front haul trade where the long term is lower than the average spot rate among Xeneta's top 13 trades. Long-term rates on this trade are still below their October highs, but they have been steadily rising since 2022. As of 15 March, long term contracts from the past three months were $800 per FEU above the spot market, at $10,400. In comparison, spot market rates have declined since November 2021, falling from $13,000 to $9


07 Mar 2022

Massive Spreads on Long-term Contract Rates from the Far East to US -Xeneta

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The first TPM since 2019 is well underway in Long Beach, U.S., and though the location and many of the faces may be the same, the negotiated rates and the conversations around them are most definitely not. As the theme of this year’s TPM: ‘Relationships Matter’ suggests, carriers, shippers and freight forwarders need to work closely together to find the best solution.This might not be an easy feat given the record-high amounts that the shippers have been paying for record low service in the past two years.

03 Feb 2022

Freight Rates from North Europe to US East Coast Increase Three-fold

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Spread between short- and long-term container shipping freight rates from North Europe to U.S. East Coast narrow with both increasing around three-fold.Rates from North Europe to the U.S. East Coast have increased dramatically over the past year, similar to any other main trade lane. With disruptions hitting container shipping globally, the non-major trade lanes have also experienced reverse cascading - ships heading back to main trades, thereby reducing capacity on the smaller ones.Rates on the westbound trans-Atlantic trade lane have come down a little from their peak in mid-November 2021


20 Jan 2022

Xeneta: Intra-Asian Spot Rates Contribute to Rising Manufacturing Costs in The Region

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Among most global trades, intra-Asian rates have seen considerable increases in recent years, though the costs on the world’s busiest container trade have not risen as quickly as in other places, Xeneta, and ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform said Thursday.According to Xeneta, in the first half of January, spot rates from the main Chinese ports to the main Japanese and South Korean ports have risen back above USD 1 800 per FEU. This comes after


10 Dec 2021

Shipping Costs: Another Danger for Inflation-watchers to Navigate

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Much like the coronavirus pandemic, and the economic disruption that it has caused, a global shipping crisis looks set to go on delaying goods traffic and fueling inflation well into 2023.Shipping rarely figures in economists' inflation and GDP calculations, and companies tend to fret more about raw materials and labor costs than transportation. But that might be changing.The cost of shipping a 40-foot container (FEU) unit has eased some 15% from record highs above $11,000 touched in September, according to the Freightos FBX index.

24 Sep 2021

Transatlantic Container Shipping Spot Rates Jump 210% -BIMCO

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For almost three months now, the spot freight rate for containerized goods shipped by sea from North Europe to the U.S. East Coast has been 210% higher than last year (July 1 – September 23), according to shipping organization BIMCO.It wasn’t until April 1, 2021 that we saw the ripple effects from the globally stretched supply chains impacting front-haul freight rates on the Transatlantic container shipping trade lane. At that time, spot freight rates for a 40-foot container jumped 52% from $2,329 to $3,544 on average for the trade lane.

16 Dec 2020

BIMCO Number of the Week: Europe-bound Container spot rates Exceed $6,000

Source: BIMCO

As spot container freight rates entered December, they also entered record-braking territory, climbing from $3,076 per FEU on the last day of November to $4,858 per FEU on first day of December. This was a milestone in its own way.Since then, all stars aligned for a continued climb that has seen spot rates break through the $6,000 per FEU mark on 15 December, now quoted at $6,102 per FEU (on December 16, 2020). (source: Xeneta).Massive BREXIT frontloading imports and so much moreThe


09 Sep 2021

Container Shipping: Record Delays, Record Profits

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As ports and hinterland transport struggle to keep up, delays at ports are soaking up capacity leading to frustration on the shippers’ side and leaving carriers struggling to keep up all the while making record profits, shipping organization BIMCO reports.Drivers of demand and freight ratesThe container shipping market has frequently appeared in the headlines over the summer as freight rates and port congestion levels continue to reach record highs. Port closures caused by COVID


17 Aug 2021

Chinese Ports Choke Over 'Zero Tolerance' COVID-19 Policy

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Several Chinese ports are facing congestion as vessels due to call at Ningbo are being diverted and cargo processing is slowed partly due to stricter disinfection measures under China's "zero-tolerance" coronavirus policy.On Tuesday, more than 50 container vessels were queuing at Ningbo port, China's second largest marine center, Refinitiv data showed, up from 28 on Aug. 10 when a COVID-19 case was reported at one of its terminals.Leading international shipping groups have warned their clients of delays and route adjustments.