As container prices in China and India continue to surge, local forwarders are busier than ever trying to secure space, says an article published in The Loadstar.
Chinese leasing companies faces difficulties
Leasing platform Container xChange said there were few signs of shortages being resolved, highlighting steep increases in the prices of new and used equipment since last year. “In China, average prices for used 20ft containers increased 94% between November and March,” the company said.
David Fan, sales manager at Shanghai-based Twings Supply Chain said, “forwarders in China were busier than ever trying to find boxes and space. But not because there are more volumes, we have to spend more time and energy just to find the same amount of containers and capacity.”
Indian companies concerns about shortage
Container xChange shows shortages continuing to drive up prices at major ports.The company said, “Between last June and last month, average used 20ft container prices across Chennai, Mundra and Nhava Sheva rose from $1,106 to $1,755, an increase of 58%.”
India’s bumper exports, the Container Shipping Lines Association India said, “export volumes were about 17-18% higher than the same month in 2019, and that carriers had repositioned some 100,000 empty containers to India.”
One of the Mumbai based firms said, “The shortage of containers at any given time is 100,000. Even when you can get a container and a booking, shipping lines are overselling space. One customer’s cargo was rolled recently and the order was cancelled because they couldn’t afford airfreight. So they had to de-stuff and return the container at a huge cost. There’s no accountability when shipping lines offload due to overselling. Everyone takes advantage.”
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Source: The Loadstar
