Philip Damas News

Ocean freight rates for cargo moving under contracts on the major East-West trade routes saw another reduction in the last quarter of 2015, according to Drewry’s Benchmarking Club, a closed user group of multinational retailers and manufacturers who closely monitor their contract freight rates. The Drewry Benchmarking Club Contract Rate Index, based on Trans Pacific and Asia-Europe contract freight rate data provided confidentially by shippers, declined by 5 percent between August and November last year, another fall on top of the sharp decline we saw during the third quarter of 2015. The reduction in contract rates was driven by a combination of lower fuel costs, excess vessel capacity and intensive competition between shipping lines.

Spot container freight rates on the major East-West routes reached a 20-month high this week and have risen above the average of the last 5 years, said a report by Drewry. The latest weekly reading is $1,770/40ft container for the composite index, reflecting increases on individual lanes to $1,785 for the Rotterdam-New York index (up $4 this week), $2,210 for the Shanghai-Rotterdam index (up $257 this week) and $2,106 for the Shanghai-Los Angeles index (up $545 this week). On the back of 1 January GRIs…

Spot container freight rates on the major East-West routes reached a 20-month high this week and have risen above the average of the last 5 years. The latest weekly reading is $1,770/40ft container for the composite index, reflecting increases on individual lanes to $1,785 for the Rotterdam-New York index (up $4 this week), $2,210 for the Shanghai-Rotterdam index (up $257 this week) and $2,106 for the Shanghai-Los Angeles index (up $545 this week). On the back of 1 January GRIs, the World Container Index between Shanghai and Rotterdam rose by 13% to reach $2,210 this week.

International transport and logistics executives are increasingly benchmarking their companies’ costs and supplier terms in ocean transport contracts, according to data gathered by Drewry Supply Chain Advisors. In the past 6 months, the ocean transport spend under carrier contracts benchmarked by Beneficial Cargo Owners via the Drewry Benchmarking Club global initiative increased by 50%, to $2.2 billion; the number of benchmarked routes rose by 81% and the volume of benchmarked dry container teu jumped by 67%.

The service provided by container shipping lines has deteriorated since 2016 and is now seen by exporters, importers and freight forwarders as more problematic, according to the second annual shipper satisfaction survey of Drewry and the European Shippers’ Council (ESC). The joint ESC and Drewry survey reveals that the 400 shippers and forwarders who took part rated the service of container shipping lines with a score of 3.2 on average on a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied).

There is considerable unease among global shippers/BCOs (Beneficial Cargo Owners) and freight forwarders ahead of the IMO’s 2020 global emissions regulations, due to come into force on 1 January 2020, according to a survey conducted by global shipping consultancy Drewry.Particular uncertainty and concern was expressed by respondents in both the survey and follow-up interviews about carriers’ methods of fuel cost recovery with more than half of all respondents (56%) stating that they did not consider their service providers’ existing approaches as either fair or transparent.Further to this…

Responding to the concerns and needs of Beneficial Cargo Owners (BCOs) ahead of the IMO 2020 global emission regulation, global shipping consultancy Drewry announces the addition of a new BAF formula and fuel cost benchmarking service to complement its existing range of ocean freight procurement support services.In cooperation with both shipper members of the Drewry Benchmarking Club and other parties, Drewry has developed an IMO low-sulphur rule, “Cost Impact Calculator” based on robust market data…

Drewry, an independent research and consulting firm to the shipping sector, has launched a new e-Sourcing solution for global ocean transport exporters and importers. The new e-Sourcing Ocean Freight Solution (eSOFS) combines Drewry’s freight rate benchmarking intelligence, industry expertise with new technology to bring speed and efficiency to ocean freight sourcing events, the firm explained. Faced with increasingly complex, data-intensive product flows and budgetary constraints, ocean transport logistics managers within multinational retailers and manufacturers have been seeking a more efficient and cost effective process to handle procurement activities. Drewry said its eSOFS solution provides the flexibility and analytical capabilities to ensure well informed procurement decisions.

Spot container freight rates from North Europe to China increased by 45 percent this week, reaching a four-year high. The “World Container Index assessed by Drewry” market reading on the route from Rotterdam to Shanghai jumped to $1,076 per 40ft dry container today, from $740 last week. “Our sources reported that ships are currently full and that carriers have demanded much higher rates – only some prior rate agreements remain in place,” said Philip Damas, head of Drewry’s logistics practice.

Drewry Maritime Research says it is hosting a free webinar for supply chain professionals to explain recent trends in ocean & air freight rates and provide an outlook for the future. The event will be hosted by Simon Heaney, Senior Manager, and Philip Damas, Director Drewry Supply Chain Advisors. Both executives will be available to take questions following a 20 minute presentation. This analysis will be provided by reference to information available in Drewry's Sea & Air Shipper Insight report.

The World Container Index’s composite index, an average of spot freight rates on 11 global East-West routes connecting Asia, Europe and the US, reached a record low of US$701 per 40-foot container on March 10, says Drewry Shipping Consultants. This was the lowest reading since the World Container Index (WCI) starting tracking weekly transatlantic, transpacific and Asia-Europe rates in June 2011. “The World Container Index’s composite index is now 60% lower than the average of the past 5 years and has decreased by 62% in the past year,” said Richard Heath, director of WCI.

The service provided by container shipping lines is rated as poor to average and has deteriorated in the past year, according to a survey of exporters, importers and freight forwarders conducted jointly by Drewry and the European Shippers’ Council (ESC). The ESC and Drewry contacted several hundred shippers and forwarders from all over the world in March 2017 and asked them how satisfied they were with 16 price and non-price related attributes of the services provided by ocean carriers. The survey also looked into areas most in need of improvement and how quality varies by type of carrier.

Drewry’s Global Ocean Container and Air Freight Rate Benchmarks Available to LLamasoft Customers for Use in Supply Chain Modeling. LLamasoft, a global leader in supply chain design software solutions, and Drewry Maritime Research, the leading provider of freight rate benchmarking today announce a partnership to make Drewry’s global ocean container and air freight rate benchmarks available to LLamasoft customers for use in supply chain design. LLamasoft will resell Drewry’s Container Freight Insight (CFRI) and Sea & Air Shipper Insight (SASI) benchmarking products as part of the new LLamasoft Data Services offering. Drewry publishes container…

Ocean freight rates for cargo moving under contracts on the major East-West trade routes fell by another 18% between February and May, according to Drewry’s Benchmarking Club, a closed user group of multinational retailers and manufacturers who closely monitor their contract freight rates. The Drewry Benchmarking Club Contract Rate Index, based on average Transpacific and Asia-Europe contract freight rate data provided confidentially by shippers, has now declined by 29% in the year to May…

Ocean freight rates for cargo moving under contracts on the major East-West trade routes fell by another 18% between February and May, according to Drewry’s Benchmarking Club, a closed user group of multinational retailers and manufacturers who closely monitor their contract freight rates. The Drewry Benchmarking Club Contract Rate Index, based on average Transpacific and Asia-Europe contract freight rate data provided confidentially by shippers, has now declined by 29% in the year to May…

International transport and logistics executives using container shipping are facing the biggest shift in their ocean provider base for 20 years and must adapt their procurement and contract strategy, according to ocean freight procurement consultancy Drewry Supply Chain Advisors. In the last five years, beneficial cargo owners have been able to secure large reductions in freight costs by running traditional competitive bids with numerous providers in an over-supplied, fragmented market.

London - Today’s Shanghai-to-Rotterdam container freight rate assessment from the World Container Index (WCI), a joint venture between Drewry and The Cleartrade Exchange, shows that container freight rates in the westbound Asia-Europe corridor increased by 28 percent this week, adding upwards pricing pressure on shippers only one month after the previous large rate increases. The World Container Index’s Shanghai-Rotterdam container freight rate sub-index went from $2,654 per 40-foot container on March 29 to $3,408 per 40-foot container on April 5, a rise of $754 per feu. Carriers in the key Asia-Europe head haul trade had announced General Rate Increases (GRIs) of about $400 per teu (or $800 per 40-foot container) from April 1.

London – Drewry Maritime Research and CargoSmart Limited have entered into a cooperation agreement which will introduce a wider range of container Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to help importers and exporters benchmark their carriers’ service levels. Drewry will incorporate the additional KPIs into a new quarterly report, the details of which will be announced later this month. “The new container KPIs will add value, as they will measure performance at the box-level, which is more important for shippers than at the ship-level,” said Philip Damas, director at Drewry. Drewry has chosen CargoSmart for its comprehensive, high quality data, which is necessary for KPIs to be effective for decision making.

Contract freight rates paid by Beneficial Cargo Owners to move their products by container have increased for a 4th consecutive quarter, according to actual contract rate data from the Drewry Benchmarking Club. Average contract rates on two major container trade routes - from Asia to North Europe and North America – have increased by another 4% between the second and the third quarter of this year. This means that the latest Drewry Benchmarking Club Contract Index has increased by 39% in the year to the third quarter, based on $2 billion of ocean freight spending.

The downwards trend line in Asia-Europe spot freight rates has finally been reversed, as data from World Container Index Shanghai-Europe reveals. Whereas the first four months of 2016 saw 50% or larger reductions in freight rates and record-low spot rate levels, a series of five consecutive monthly rate increases that started in April and continued again on 1 August has resulted in a return to an upwards trend line. “Shippers and cargo owners booking under spot rates enjoyed huge cost reductions while carriers suffered substantial revenue shortfalls in early 2016 on the Asia-Europe route but…

Ocean freight rates for cargo moving under contracts on the major East-West routes have seen a sharp reduction since the beginning of the year, according to Drewry’s Benchmarking Club, a closed user group of multinational retailers and manufacturers who closely monitor their contract freight rates. The Drewry Benchmarking Club contract rate index, based on Trans Pacific and Asia-Europe contract freight rate data provided confidentially by shippers, declined by 7% between May and August this year, the steepest fall since the Benchmarking Club was established in March 2014. The fall in contract rates has been driven by a combination of lower fuel costs, excess vessel capacity and intensive competition between shipping lines.

Chainalytics, a global leader in supply chain consulting, and Drewry, the global shipping consultancy, have partnered to launch an innovative ocean freight procurement solution for shippers. The Chainalytics Ocean Buying Group, in partnership with Drewry, will provide participating Beneficial Cargo Owners (BCOs) with enhanced purchasing power, service monitoring and cost transparency. The new strategic partnership delivers a pioneering ocean freight procurement platform that will…

Ocean freight rates for cargo moving under contracts on the major East-West trade routes saw a reversal of trend in 4Q 2016, according to Drewry’s Benchmarking Club, a closed user group of 50 multinational retailers and manufacturers who closely monitor their contract freight rates. The Drewry Benchmarking Club Contract Rate Index, based on average Transpacific and Asia-Europe contract freight rate data provided confidentially by shippers, increased by 3% in the latest quarter, after having fallen for more than 6 consecutive quarters.