This year's import and export logistics is too difficult! The freight rate skyrocketed in July, and in August it started to burst again. Due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the decline in international logistics capacity has led to a sharp increase in container ship freight rates. The freight rate of the US West route has increased by nearly three times compared with the beginning of the year. Under the background of tight capacity, the industry frequently produces container dumping.

Among the international shipping routes, the China-U.S. routes had the largest increase. As of October 9, the freight rates of Shanghai’s exports to the West and East U.S. basic ports were US$3,848 and US$4,622 per container, respectively. It is a new high since its release in 2009, and the price per container has risen nearly three times compared with the price of US$1,361 per container in early March. A person in charge of a logistics company said that in addition to skyrocketing shipping prices and difficulty in ordering containers, shipping companies have limited space during peak freight seasons, and popular routes are also prone to explosions and dumping of containers.

The China Export Container Comprehensive Freight Index released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange shows that since May, the freight index has continued to rise. As of October 9, the Shanghai Comprehensive Export Container Freight Index, which reflects the spot market, has recorded 1438.22 points. Reached the highest level since September 2012. A relevant person in charge of a container manufacturing company said that the tight shipping capacity is not only reflected in freight rates, but also in matched containers. Judging from their company’s container sales, the entire month-on-month growth rate in July and August was rapid, and container production It's already the end of the year.

On North American routes, the new crown epidemic in the United States continues to spread rapidly. The confirmed cases and deaths are ranked first in the world, but the United States still gives priority to economic recovery.

Starting in late August, the lack of cabinets is getting worse! In September, the cargo throughput of the two major ports in North America increased sharply. In October, China's golden week a large number of cargo influx, the congestion situation of Los Angeles and Long Beach ports became worse. The shipping schedule will face serious delays, and it will be more difficult for overseas cabinets to return home. It is foreseeable that the domestic “hard to find a cabinet” will not change in the short term. In the past half month of October, ocean freight has remained high and even rising. In the past three months, the price of liner shipping for containers to the United States has increased by nearly 60%. The average space utilization rate of ships in Shanghai Port is above 95%, and the relationship between supply and demand is good. The market freight rate continues to rise, and the spot market booking price of the US-Western route set a record high.

In September, the average freight index of China's exports to the West and East US routes were 1020.50 points and 1111.11 points, respectively, an average increase of 13.6% and 12.8% from the previous month.　

The outbreak of the overseas epidemic in the second quarter led to production stagnation, which caused China's share of global exports to increase. The rapid increase in shipping prices on US routes was mainly due to the gap in shipping supply and demand. The increase in shipping prices also allowed major shipping companies to earn a lot in the consolidation sector. Full of.

Relevant sources said that due to the impact of the epidemic this year, most shipping companies had previously had pessimistic expectations about the international shipping situation, and therefore reduced their shipping capacity. With the domestic epidemic under control, my country’s exports have shown strong resilience. Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that my country Exports started in April and have been increasing for six consecutive months. The cumulative increase of 1.8% in the first three quarters exceeded market expectations. The total export value in September was 166.197 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.7%. The current high freight rates and difficulty in booking space are mainly due to the difficulty of the shipping company's capacity to meet the sudden increase in shipping demand. Since the epidemic has not been fully controlled abroad, these countries lag behind China in resuming work and production. After a large amount of Chinese goods are exported to the local area, they are stranded at ports due to the long time for unloading of the other party, resulting in the overall import and export speed. Balance and congestion have further led to insufficient capacity in the shipping market. Even though China has fully resumed work and production, and European and American countries have restarted economic activities, this epidemic has dealt a heavy blow to container shipping companies. It will take time to restore normal transportation conditions in the past, plus the US consumption peak season is coming soon At present, it is still a high probability event for shipping prices to maintain a high level in the next period of time.

The increase in shipping prices and the increase in freight volume have made the shipping companies of major shipping companies full of profits. Wind data shows that in the second quarter of this year, COSCO Shipping Holdings, China Merchants Shipping, COSCO Marine Energy, China Merchants Nanyou, The year-on-year growth rates of Haifa’s return to parent net profit were 53.79%, 520.93%, 5481.39%, 159.56% and 66.51%.

Taking into account the instability of maritime logistics in the peak season of this year, some foreign trade companies said that they would try their best to avoid betting on a logistics company for all cargo transportation, and make preparations for sea, land, and air at any time.

I would like to remind importers and exporters that the current price increase and the shortage of containers are not expected to disappear in the short term. Everyone arranges shipments reasonably and arranges bookings in advance!