/ By COH Marketing / Market Update（EN）/ 0 Comments

Freight Market Update: November 22, 2022

Ocean Freight Market Update

Asia → North America (TPEB)

  • Transpacific Eastbound (TPEB) demand continues on a declining trend:
    • U.S.: Rates continue to fall for all gateways, nearing rate levels seen pre-pandemic. Although carrier reliability is up YoY and overall TPEB capacity is continuing to grow, port and rail congestion is still seen at the major US gateways to some extent, most notably at Houston for vessel dwell (12 days) and Los Angeles/Long Beach as rail dwell (14 days).
    • Canada: Market and rate conditions are similar to the U.S. Vancouver saw an improvement in the vessel count but a deterioration in berthing delays (29 days).
  • Rates: Remain soft on most origin-destination combinations.
  • Space: Open.
  • Capacity/Equipment: Open, except in a few pockets.
  • Recommendation: Book at least 2 weeks prior to cargo ready date (CRD) and keep in mind upcoming blank sailings.

Asia → Europe (FEWB)

  • No change in the sluggish demand throughout November with a similar outlook going into early December. Rates are still following a downward trend. Space is readily available but schedule reliability is affected. Port congestion in Europe continues to cause delays and late return of vessels to Asia.
  • Rates: Ongoing pressure on spot rates due to low demand.
  • Capacity/Equipment: Space is generally open despite the impact of blank sailings and vessel delays.
  • Recommendation: Allow flexibility when planning your shipments due to anticipated congestion and delays.

Air Freight Market Update

Asia

  • N. China: TPEB demand is picking up slightly due to an increase in month-end shipping orders and rates have increased compared to last week. Far East Westbound (FEWB) demand and rates remain stable.
  • S. China: Market rates remain at similar levels to last week. The Covid outbreak in the Guangzhou area continues to affect manufacturing operations, resulting in cargo output delays.
  • Taiwan: There is a slight peak before the Thanksgiving holiday, however, overall demand is low in the market.
  • Korea: The market remains soft for the Thanksgiving holiday. Additional freighter capacity to Los Angeles (LAX) has been added to the market.
  • SE Asia: The overall export markets in Southeast Asia continue to be soft.

Europe

  • Overall demand levels out of Europe remain low for this time of the year.
  • Capacity available in the market is sufficient to meet demand levels, with slightly higher lead days into some main hubs in North America.
  • Terminal congestion in Amsterdam (AMS) and London Heathrow (LHR) might lead to delays.
  • Watch out for the upcoming holiday season, which might create bottlenecks both in the air and on the ground.

Americas

  • Export demand remains steady from all markets.
  • US airports are running at a normal pace.
  • Capacity is opening up further, especially into Europe.
  • Rates remain stable week over week.

文章来源：Flexport

/ By COH Marketing / Latest News（EN）/ • • / 0 Comments

2M suspends USEC service as rates, volumes drop near year’s end

Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) and Maersk are halting a trans-Pacific US East Coast service after freight rates have been cut by more than half from the summer peak.

MSC and Maersk, partners in the 2M Alliance, said in separate statements this week that they will temporarily suspend their jointly run Liberty/TP23 service until further notice, adding that the suspension “will help alleviate port congestion.” The last sailing will be Nov. 23 from Indonesia. Liberty/TP23, which was introduced in March 2021, offers service from Indonesia, Vietnam and China to the US ports of Charleston, Savannah, and New York-New Jersey with a string of ships in the 8,000 TEU range.

The service suspension comes as rates into the US East Coast see further weakening as the end of 2022 nears. After dropping about 25 percent from October, average US East Coast freight rates now sit at $4,500 per FEU, with bookings done as low as $3,700, according to a trans-Pacific forwarder who asked not to be identified. That is down 55 percent from levels seen in June, the forwarder added.

“Ocean carriers are cutting rates and voiding sailings left, right, and center,” the source said.

With rates returning to pre-pandemic levels, ship supply to the US East Coast appears too high to offset rate declines. Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis said in its most recent Sunday Spotlight newsletter that November vessel capacity into the USEC is 19.5 percent above the level seen in November 2019, with December capacity running even higher at 37.7 percent above the same month in 2019.

Meanwhile, more service changes could be coming. MSC’s standalone Santana service, which was shifted from a West Coast to an East Coast service last year, is reportedly moving to every three weeks instead of a weekly service, according to a maritime shipping source who did not want to be identified. The service change could not be independently verified.

Some of the slowdown in container activity is showing up in the most recently available cargo figures for New York-New Jersey. Although New York-New Jersey has been the busiest US port for three consecutive months, the October volume of 792,548 TEU was essentially flat with the year-ago month. In a statement to JOC.com, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it forecasts full-year 2022 volume to be about 9 million TEU, which would be up only nominally from 2021.

文章来源：JOC.COM

/ By COH Marketing / Latest News（EN）/ 0 Comments

Canadian and US Terminal update 11/7 (week 45)

Rupert             

  • Dwell times for cargo bound for Toronto remain high as the inland terminals face congestion challenges;
  • Fairview Terminal is receiving consistent rail supply to match current volumes;

Vancouver      

 

The dwell is still high for all the terminals. Centerm and Delta have the worst performance, with dwell time more than 7 days;

 

A picture containing chart Description automatically generated

 

Halifax  

Fairview Cove Terminal is at 3.1 days average dwell last week. 

Atlantic Hub Terminal remains congested, with 5.9 days dwell time.

 

 

 

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

 

  

USA Long Beach

 

Seattle + Tacoma ( The Northwest Seaport Alliance)

 

Highlights & Updates

• PCT will have a limited gate Friday, 11/18. Contact ETS for more details.
• All terminals will be closed Thursday, 11/24 for the Thanksgiving holiday.
• T5 will be closed Friday, 11/25. For a complete list of next week’s gate schedules visit our website here.
• There is ample warehouse & transload capacity available across the gateway. Our monthly Warehouse &
Transload Availability report, which shows many providers with space, is found on page 3 and on the website here.
• The USDA’s Commodity Container Assistance Program (CCAP) is still available to exporters who use T46 and
West Hylebos Yard to stage export loads. More info on reimbursement and eligible commodities found here.
• At PCT Everport now requires all trucking companies to secure valid empty out appointments.
• Husky and PCT currently are not accepting TRAC or DCLI bare chassis drops until further notice.

 

 

 Chassis Status

As of March 31st, the PNW Market Pool has transitioned to single-provider neutral pools to service the region:
o TRAC Intermodal operates the TRAC Pacific Northwest Pool (TPNP)
o DCLI operates the Direct Chassis Link Pool (DCLP)
• For more details on pool changes please visit our website for a Pacific Northwest Pool Operations Update
• If you have questions or would like further information on chassis in the PNW, please contact operators directly:
§ TRAC Intermodal: Cindy Davies, Director, Western Region cdavies@tracintermodal.com
§ DCLI: Amy Hume, General Manager, Logistics West amy.hume@dcli.com
§ FlexiVan/AIM: Susan Duran, Director, Western Region sduran@flexivan.com
§ Milestone: Sandra Magallanes, Account Executive, West Coast sandra.magallanes@milecorp.com
• Chassis Start Stop Locations for The Northwest Seaport Alliance can be found on our website.

 

International Intermodal Service

/ By COH Marketing / 市场动向(中文) • 最新新闻(中文)/ 0 Comments

船公司减班救市！三大联盟持续消减运力！可能出现舱位紧张！尽早制定出货计划

随着全球贸易航线的需求水平急剧下降，运价暴跌，航运公司正准备实施自疫情爆发以来最严厉的班轮服务削减。

随着全球贸易航线的需求水平急剧下降，运价暴跌，航运公司正准备实施自疫情爆发以来最严厉的班轮服务削减。

为了稳住运价，船公司们停班停航，降低航速，集装箱航运市场一夜之间“风云变色”。继最近跨太平洋航线服务停航减班之后，三大联盟正在考虑暂停或合并一些亚洲-北欧环线服务，以减轻预订急剧下降的影响，并减缓运费大幅下滑的侵蚀。

10月11日，马士基发布公告表示，由于预测全球需求将减少，马士基正在寻求相应地平衡运输服务网络。在上月底暂停两条跨太平洋航线后，其将取消亚洲-北欧航线的运力。

马士基表示，第一艘受影响的船舶将是10月26日从宁波启航服务于2M“AE1/Shogun”环线运力为16652TEU的”MSC Hamburg”轮，该船途经宁波、厦门、盐田、马来西亚丹戎帕拉帕斯以及欧洲的鹿特丹、泽布吕赫和不莱梅港。

根据eeSea数据，该环线部署了11艘船舶，平均运力为15414标准箱，往返行程需77天。

马士基表示:“我们的总体目标是为客户提供可预测性，并通过为受影响的船舶提供替代路线和覆盖范围，将供应链中断降至最低。”与此同时，马士基的2M合作伙伴MSC昨天表示，“MSC Hamburg”的航行只是暂时取消，这表明服务将在一周内恢复。

但订舱量（尤其是来自中国的订舱量）的大幅下滑，意味着三大联盟别无选择，只能对其进行合理化调整以避免即期和短期合同运价进一步暴跌，对其维持利润的长期合同产生负面影响。

事实上，一位服务亚洲-北欧航线船公司的消息人士最近表示，该公司的订舱量“非常糟糕”。“这是疫情开始以来见到最糟糕的前景，舱位预订需求将下降了25%。”他补充说，未来几周到英国的订舱量“特别少”，但希望这“只是一个小插曲”。他表示：“黄金周假期过后市场需求疲软，今年可能是最糟糕的一年。”

随着进入需求持续疲软的时期，即期运价一直在下降，航运巨头们被迫采取积极措施来管理运力，通过取消更多的航行，在某些情况下，甚至终止航线。接下来，为了救市船公司们可能会取消更多欧洲线航行。甚至有可能出现舱位紧张状况。

在此提醒，近期要出货的货主货代朋友们，与船公司、客户等做好沟通，一定要尽早做好出货计划，以免影响出货！转发周知~

文章来源：综合外媒Theloadstar、马士基公告等，维运网

/ By COH Marketing / Market Update（EN）/ / 0 Comments

White House Keeping Distance from Critical Rail and Dockworker Labor Talks For Now

The White House is monitoring labor talks in the logistics industry as unions representing 115,000 rail workers and 22,000 West Coast dockworkers negotiate fresh contracts, but won’t get directly involved in either bargaining process now, its supply-chain envoy said.

“The administration is watching as closely as it can be watched without being a point of interference, which would not be appropriate,” Stephen Lyons said in a virtual briefing Wednesday. “Negotiations are at a place where you’d think the negotiation should be at this particular point.”

Labor impasses are spreading across the US logistics network in the busiest months of the year for shipping, as retailers stock up on back-to-school and year-end holiday goods. Dock- and railroad-worker unions are currently negotiating contracts with employers, with the latter threatening to strike as soon as July 18.

Talks between the nation’s largest railroads and workers — which started in January 2020 — are in a 30-day cool-off period after a union rejected a binding mediation offer from the National Mediation Board. Next, the Biden administration could appoint a presidential emergency board to resolve the dispute.

Rail Congestion Threatens Nationwide Logjam, LA’s Seroka Says

“We’ve got to get these folks some wage increases; we’ve got to address some of these issues,” Lyons said, adding he doesn’t want to get ahead of President Joe Biden as he makes a decision. “We’ll see what happens on the 17th. But I do think there’s a commitment there.”

Contract Discussions
Separately, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents about 70 employers, began discussing a new contract in May and are continuing to do so after their previous pact expired July 1. Officials from the ILWU and the PMA, which represents employers, met with Biden when he visited the Port of Los Angeles last month and have recently reaffirmed their commitment to keeping cargo moving despite the lack of a contract.

Any slowdown in operations at the two ports that are responsible for 42% of all containerized trade with Asia could stoke annual inflation that’s running at the fastest pace since 1981, and damp economic growth.

Biden, who’s pledged to be the most pro-union president in US history, has directed Cabinet members and logistics-area experts to smooth out pandemic-era port logjams that spurred shortages and delays. Lyons and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh have been in touch with both parties, the port envoy said.

Port of Los Angeles Kicks Off Peak Season with Record June

Meanwhile, about 70,000 truck owner-operators in California — home to the nation’s biggest port complex at Los Angeles and Long Beach — are now in limbo as a local gig-work law starts applying to them.

California’s Assembly Bill 5 requires workers satisfy a three-part test to be considered independent contractors, or else be seen as employees entitled to job benefits. The state’s truck owner-operators must now comply with AB5 after the Supreme Court on June 30 refused to review a case challenging the legislation that sets out the tests for employment-status classification.

‘So Critical’
On Wednesday, truckers demonstrated against the changes at the port gateways of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, according to the Harbor Trucking Association.

L.A. operations weren’t affected, and the port had planned for the protest days ahead Executive Director Gene Seroka said.

“We gave them the breadth and depth and space they needed to voice their opinions but kept this cargo moving; these drivers are very respectful of just that,” Seroka said at the virtual briefing Lyons also attended. “They have a message to put out there and are continuing to do so. I applaud them for coming out here today.”

The Biden administration is still assessing the AB5 issue in California, Lyons said.

“The truckers are so critical to their supply chain — we’ve got to make sure that we’re setting the conditions to take care of them to the best of our ability.”

/ By COH Marketing / Latest News（EN）/ 1 Comment

Ocean carriers cut trans-Pac services as blank sailings fail to stem rate slide

Mediterranean Shipping Co. Maersk, and CMA CGM are cutting three trans-Pacific services in response to a sharp drop in import demand and spot ocean freight rates.

The service changes, which amount to one post-Panamax service and two Panamax services, are not major capacity cuts and are likely to do little to prop up freight rates. But the moves demonstrate how fast carriers are pulling capacity as rates approach or fall below break-even levels.

2M Alliance members MSC and Maersk said last week in separate statements that their jointly run Sequoia/TP3 post-Panamax service will be suspended because of “significantly reduced demand” in the trans-Pacific. The Sequoia/TP3 service offers about 14,000 TEU in weekly capacity from Ningbo and Shanghai to Los Angeles.

The service will be merged into 2M’s 13,600-TEU Jaguar/TP2 service that calls Long Beach, Maersk said. Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis said the last sailing on the Sequoia/TP3 service, which was introduced in 2016, will be on the MSC Savona, which is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on Oct. 5.

Maersk also said two standalone services into the US East and Gulf coasts would be merged into one. The TP28 service, which the carrier debuted in 2022, would be merged into the TP20 service, which debuted in 2021, as of the final sailing of the Merkur Archipelago from Vietnam’s Vung Tau port on Oct. 13.

Calls at the ports of Norfolk, Charleston, and Houston on both services will be dropped, with the TP20 only calling New York-New Jersey and Mobile, Maersk said. Origin ports on the TP20 will include Jakarta, Vung Tau, Shanghai, and Ningbo. Both services use Panamax-size vessels of about 5,000 TEU.

Maersk said that consolidating services would offer better transit times for shippers and increase berth availability. It added that “as soon as cargo demand recovers, we will bring capacity back through relaunching TP3, TP28, upgrading of other services, and/or sailing extra-loaders.”

Separately, CMA CGM ended its Golden Gate Bridge service, which called the ports of Oakland and Seattle, according to Sea-Intelligence. The last sailing of the service, which offered about 8,500 TEU in weekly capacity, was on the CMA CGM Medea, which is currently berthed at Seattle.

Outside of the major ocean carriers, smaller lines have also been pulling ships from the trans-Pacific. Independent carrier CULines has ended a trans-Pacific express service that it jointly ran with Shanghai Jin Jiang Shipping since July 2021, after closing its TPN service in August, maritime consultancy Alphaliner said in a report. CULines has a second trans-Pacific express service that it still operates, Alphaliner said.

October capacity unchanged from a year ago

The service changes follow a series of blank sailings that carriers have laid out for October in a bid to cut capacity, but that have failed to halt a slide in spot freight rates. Sea-Intelligence said that ocean carriers as of last Friday planned to blank 48 planned voyages during the month. In comparison, carriers had only planned to blank 12 October voyages six weeks earlier, Sea-Intelligence said.

Those blank sailings are doing little to prop up spot ocean freight rates, which have slid 10 percent weekly since mid-August, according to a research report from investment bank Jeffries. Spot rates into the US West Coast are now hovering at $2,400 per FEU, close to the level where ships are only seeing break-even results.

Sea-Intelligence said the service cuts have mostly affected the surge capacity that was brought into the trans-Pacific amid high spot rates. Even with the service cuts, carriers will still have 1.56 million TEU of vessel space deployed in the trans-Pacific during October, essentially flat with totals from last year.

“With the blank sailings announced thus far, the carriers have merely reduced capacity down to the same level as we saw last year,” Sea-Intelligence said. “The relevant issue is the magnitude of capacity operated in the trade, and blank sailings might well be counteracted by larger vessels, new services, and possibly extra-loaders.”