- What does the global shortage of shipping containers that’s sent ocean freight rates skyrocketing show?
- Is it signs of easing! Yes, according to an index that tracks the steel boxes used to transport 90% of the global trade in goods, there is a sign of easing.
- The Container Availability Index should stay around 0.35 to 0.38 through Chinese Lunar New Year in mid-February.
A recent news article published in the Bloomberg written by Brendan Murray reveals how the shipping container crunch shows signs of easing.
Balanced market
A reading of 0.5 reflects a balanced market, with anything below that mark indicating demand is outstripping supply.
The levels had reached lows ranging from 0.06 to 0.13 in December depending on the size of container tracked.
Imbalances around Shanghai
Imbalances around Shanghai, where shortages late last year were particularly acute as Chinese factories returned to full production and exports to the U.S. surged, are headed back to normal levels, Container xChange also said.
The index level for Qingdao, for instance, returned to the 0.5 balanced mark, it said.
Realigning of containers
Shipping liners have tried to realign their containers with the demand on transpacific routes, and “due to the aggressive repositioning of empties back to China by the shipping lines, Chinese New Year stands to become the turning point of equipment shortage.” That holiday runs from Feb. 11-17.
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Source : Bloomberg
