Category: Coronavirus

Monitored ocean Freight all Kinds (FAK) rates rose yet again this week from their already record-high levels, across all major East-West trades, up 518% on their level a year ago into Northern Europe and expected to remain on the higher side due to port congestion, huge demand and lack of e... Read more

Current supply and demand dynamics will maintain elevated prices through peak season and into 2022, with analysts predicting systemic market changes that will keep rates at an elevated level in the long term. The rate of air freight rate growth has slowed on many routes, since peaking at the b... Read more

While some container shipping lines will continue calling at Yantian, other carriers have already diverted ships as the port’s operations have deteriorated, with Maersk warning that delays are now expected to last two weeks. The Yantian congestion is yet another disruption to global shipping... Read more

If this was a typical year, we’d be approaching the start of the peak season for sea freight and the shipping lines would be preparing a round of general rate increases (GRI), but this year is anything but typical and even with demand soaring way beyond any typical peak period and freight rates... Read more

Asia’s economic bounce back continues to show strong growth, driven by new manufacturing orders and the ensuing increase in export sales, which is putting more pressure on supply chains, leading to increased lead times, shortages of aircraft space and rising prices. Purchasing managers data ... Read more

Shippers from Asia to Europe continue to see increases in container spot rates, as cargo-rolling become ever more commonplace and carriers begin to cancel sailings in an effort to restore schedule reliability. Space on vessels from Asia is effectively ‘sold out’ for May and June, with a su... Read more

Container shipping rates from China to the US and Europe continue to rise, as reduced capacity, high consumer demand and equipment shortages across China and Southeast Asia escalate. While container freight rate increases on the transpacific trade from Asia h... Read more

China's exports have surged, driven by post-lockdown demand from the US and Europe, while factory gate pricing has risen at the steepest rate for more than three years. China's economy grew 18.3% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same quarter in 2020, in its biggest GDP jump si... Read more

Finding an empty container in Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian or any other major Chinese gateway port, is becoming a major problem, yet again, as Asian container availability is tightening, and purchase and rental costs are soaring, and equipment will become even scarcer as demand builds through May in... Read more

The global air freight market is accelerating rapidly, with massive rate increases impacting many trade lanes, with Asia & Europe to the US particularly affected. Volumes out of China have been increasing weekly, with higher yields to the US attracting carriers to the routes and reducing d... Read more

Our sea freight ops team continue to perform in a very challenging global ocean freight environment and with global supply chains likely to be under pressure for the rest of the year, they will continue to deliver the highest possible levels of service and performance available with all options b... Read more

The leading container shipping lines are releasing their Q1 2021 operational statements, which show a sharp increase in freight rates compared to Q4 2020 reports. Not only in the sense that rates are increasing, but the pace at which the rates increase is also accelerating, but when will the incr... Read more