Longer-dated EC contracts fell this morning as EC traders interpreted the fall of the Assad regime in Syria as a positive step toward peace in the Middle East. Near-dated EC contracts, such as EC2412 and EC2502, outperformed after Maersk issued an email after market on Friday (6 December) announcing a freight rate increase aimed at raising rates to $6,000 per FEU starting December 30, 2024. This $6,000/FEU target was originally set for December 1. Overall, trading volume remains light. However,
ONE and Wan Hai will exchange slots on 2 Far East-US West Coast services that each carrier operates from 1 February 2025. ONE will provide to Wan Hai 1,700 teu per week on the PS6 service that it operates under the Premier Alliance agreement. Wan Hai's slots will cover only Shanghai, Ningbo, Long Beach, Oakland, Shanghai and will exclude the other ports of the full PS6 rotation that calls at Busan, Kwangyang, Incheon, Shanghai, Ningbo, Kwangyang, Busan, Long Beach, Oakland, Busan. Wan Hai wil
Sinotrans has launched a new China Vietnam Thailand 1 (CVT1) service calling at Nansha, Hong Kong, Shekou, Ho Chi Minh City, Laem Chabang, Nansha from 4 December 2024. The CVT1 turns in 14 days using 2 ships of 1,000 teu with the 1,024 teu OPTIMA and 1,040 teu SINOTRANS TIANJIN.
EC contracts saw minimal movement this morning as traders awaited the release of the SCFI for direction. Overnight, Maersk continued to slash their quotations, offering $4,400 per FEU from Qingdao to Rotterdam on an AE10 vessel departing on 22 December, compared to $4,700 per FEU for shipments departing from Shanghai before December 15. The utilization moving average remains around 97%, consistent with the level observed since second half of November. However, the week-to-date average utiliza
MSC will launch a new Eastern Cape Express Service connecting Port Elizabeth, Walvis Bay, Rotterdam, London Gateway, Antwerp from 2 January 2025. The service will turn 7 weeks using ships of 2,000 to 3,000 teu starting with the 3,005 teu MSC NEDERLAND III at Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) on 2 January 2025. It is aimed at the grapes exports from South Africa and Namibia to Europe. Port rotation of the new Eastern Cape Express Service
Carriers appetite for new tonnage continues to push charter rates higher. Apart from raiding the depleted charter market for additional tonnage, carriers have returned to the newbuilding market in droves with Maersk confirming a 20 ship order on top of additional charter deals as it tries to narrow the self-created gap with MSC. The orderbook ratio has rebounded to 27% from 20% in June on the back of more than 3.8m teu of new capacity that has been ordered in the last 6 months alone. The contai
Port congestion rebounded last week after a brief improvement at Chinese ports as the number of ships waiting at anchorages have picked up sharply especially in Shanghai and Ningbo where vessel waiting times have risen to up to 4 days. High cargo traffic and vessel bunching on arrival has caused congestion to build up, with activity boosted by cargo front loading ahead of December rate hikes and potential US East Coast labour strife. The expectation for more cargo to be shipped ahead of the impl
Containerised cargo imports into the US from Asia have continued to grow over the last 7 years despite the introduction of US import tariffs since 2018. Overall cargo growth grew by 3.5% on a compounded basis between 2017 and 2024 with all Asian origins recording positive cargo growth, including China that posted growth of 0.8% during the period. Although China’s share of total US imports from Asia decreased from 70.4% in 2017 to 58.9% in 2024, it remains the largest origin country of containe
EC traders are disappointed by Maersk's lack of further action to increase freight rates over the past two days. While Hapag-Lloyd has become the first to announce its intention to raise freight rates to $8,000–$9,000 per FEU starting December 15, Maersk is already quoting lower freight rates for shipments departing after that date compared to those leaving now. The rates for each departure date have been reduced by 3% to 13% since November 30. Utilization is holding steady but remains 1.5 perce
Ningbo Ocean Shipping (NBOSCO) has launched a new Ningb0-Zhapu-Busan service from 15 October 2024. The service turns weekly with the 629 teu KAI PING on a 7 day rotation. The service calls at the Intergis terminal in Busan, Daxie terminal in Ningbo and Jiaxing port in Zhapu.