- Asia-North Europe ocean carriers have been discharging containers loaded in China.
- The containers are offloaded at transhipment ports en route to accommodate better-paying cargo.
- SCFI recorded a 4.5% dip in spot rates for North Europe to $1,010 per teu post-CNY bookings.
- SCFI ticked up 1.2% this week for US west coast ports, to $1,562 per 40ft.
- For east coast destinations, there was a 1.9% increase, to $2,943 per 40ft.
According to an article published in The Loadstar, this month has seen the return of container rollovers in loading ports out of Asia as carriers continue to trim capacity.
Containers discharged in China
Several reports have come this week that some Asia-North Europe ocean carriers have been discharging containers loaded in China at transhipment ports en route, so they can accommodate better-paying cargo.
And this week both the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) and Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) referred to carriers “off-loading containers” at way ports.
Aggressive blanking policies by carriers
As a consequence of the aggressive blanking policies by carriers, some westbound sailings prior to the Chinese new year on 25 January are reported to have been 50% overbooked, which means even VIP contract customers have been fighting daily to ensure their boxes are shipped.
“Only one or two premium shipping lines have the decency to pre-warn customers that their containers have been nominated for rolling,” said UK-based forwarder Westbound Logistics.
“When a vessel is overbooked, they will choose a batch of containers to offload at a connecting port such as Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, making way for other protected contract business,” said Ryan Clark, director, and co-owner of the London Gateway-headquartered firm.
Dip in spot rates
Meanwhile, today’s SCFI recorded a 4.5% dip in spot rates for North Europe to $1,010 per teu as some carriers offered discounts on post-CNY bookings. However, an NVOCC source told the spot rates were “immaterial”.
“You might be able to book at that rate, but you have absolutely no idea when you are going to get the boxes shipped,” she said.
For the Asia-Mediterranean trade, the SCFI component remained at $1,180 per teu this week, with reports of similar rollover and transshipment issues affecting the route.
Rolled-over and transhipped cargo
Having built up a substantial amount of rolled-over and transhipped cargo on the quay, container lines will look to avoid the normal downward pressure on rates during the slack period after the CNY.
Notwithstanding the absence of schedule reliability, Mr. Clark thought that carriers would probably achieve their objective in propping up rates, and he did not expect them to fall much after CNY.
He told, “There are so many blank sailings, it’s hard to see how anyone will get boxes shipped in the first place – rate wise I can only see a small drop, nothing crazy.”
Transpacific ships running full
Elsewhere, transpacific ships have also been running full, leading to rollovers, and spot rates recorded by the SCFI ticked up 1.2% this week for US west coast ports, to $1,562 per 40ft. For east coast destinations, there was a 1.9% increase, to $2,943 per 40ft.
Ocean carriers on transpacific routes announced another batch of blank sailings this week, which OOCL called a “response to the market downturn in the lunar new year period”.
Meanwhile, there has also been a cautious welcome given by carriers to the Phase One trade deal between the US and China signed in Washington this week. George Griffiths, editor, global container freight market at S&P Global Platts, said carriers had “breathed a sigh of relief”.
“In their eyes, it will boost the importing demand for US companies and also increase the cargo offered on a back-haul basis,” said Mr Griffiths.
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Source: TheLoadstar
