- 60 out of 691 scheduled sailings were canceled between 29 July and 1 September, representing a 9% cancellation rate.
- 48% of cancellations on Transpacific Eastbound, 27% on Asia-North Europe & Med, and 25% on Transatlantic Westbound trades.
- OCEAN Alliance leads with 16 cancellations, THE Alliance and 2M with 13 each, and 18 from non-Alliance services.
Weekly Cancelled Sailings Tracker provides a snapshot of blank sailings announced by each Alliance versus the total number of scheduled sailings, reports Drewry.
Weekly Analysis: 26 July 2024
Across the major East-West head haul trades—Transpacific, Transatlantic, and Asia-North Europe & Med—60 canceled sailings have been announced between week 31 (29 July-4 August) and week 35 (26 August-1 September), out of a total of 691 scheduled sailings, representing a 9% cancellation rate.
During this period, 48% of the blank sailings will occur on the Transpacific Eastbound, 27% on the Asia-North Europe and Med, and 25% on the Transatlantic Westbound trade.
Over the next five weeks, OCEAN Alliance has announced 16 cancellations, followed by THE Alliance and 2M with 13 cancellations each. During the same period, 18 blank sailings have been implemented by non-Alliance services.
As can be seen in the chart above, we are seeing a decline in schedule reliability; on average, 91% of the ships are expected to sail as scheduled over the next five weeks.
On July 25, Drewry’s WCI Composite Index dropped 2% week-over-week to $5,806, its first decrease in 13 weeks. Transpacific rates fell by 4%, Asia-Europe and Med rates decreased by 1%, while Transatlantic rates increased by 1%. Despite this decline, freight rates on major East-West lanes remain quite high.
Most vessels from Asia to Europe/Med and the Americas are currently rerouting via the Cape of Good Hope, with few exceptions, such as CMA CGM’s Asia-Med Phoenician Express (BEX2), which continues to use the Suez/Red Sea route. Ongoing Houthi attacks are deterring carriers from resuming their routings through the Suez Canal. As the resolution of geopolitical issues in the Middle East remains uncertain, disruption, delays, and longer transit times are likely to persist.
Additionally, a faulty Crowdstrike update on July 19 briefly disrupted global supply chains, causing delays and grounding flights; however, the impact on container shipping was limited.
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Source: Drewry
