Across the major East-West headhaul trades: Transpacific, Transatlantic, and Asia-North Europe & Med, 68 canceled sailings have been announced between week 36 (2 Sep-8 Sep) and week 40 (30 Sep-6 Oct), out of a total of 696 scheduled sailings, representing 10% cancellation rate, reports Drewry.
Cancelled Sailings Tracker
During this period, 51% of the blank sailings will occur on the Transpacific Eastbound, 28% on the Asia-North Europe and Med, and 21% on the Transatlantic Westbound trade.
Over the next five weeks, THE Alliance has announced 17 cancellations, followed by OCEAN Alliance and 2M with 12 and 10 cancellations, respectively. During the same period, 29 blank sailings have been implemented by non-Alliance services.
As can be seen in the chart above, we are seeing a decline in the schedule reliability; on average 90% of the ships are expected to sail as scheduled, over the next five weeks.
On 29 August, Drewry’s WCI Composite Index declined, with rates dropping 3% WoW to $5,181 per 40ft container. Rates on Asia-North Europe and Med routes fell 3%, while Transpacific rates decreased 2% and Transatlantic rates dropped 1%.
With spot rates continuing to decline and demand staying weak ahead of China’s Golden Week holiday (October 1-7), a time when bookings typically surge before the week-long factory shutdown, ocean carriers may need to implement additional blank sailings. The cancellation rate for East-West trades is expected to be about 10% over the next five weeks. Shippers and BCOs should prepare contingency plans to mitigate the impact of any last-minute cancellations on their shipments.
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Source: Drewry
