Europe and the United States are both soaring! A new round of ocean freight price increases has begun

Since July, the shipping prices on the US route have jumped several times, and cross-border logistics has undergone a large-scale price adjustment. The prices of American, Senian and ordinary ships have generally increased by 0.5 yuan/kg. The industry has warned that there will be another wave of price increases in early August. At present, some freight forwarding companies have updated their price lists.

Shipping companies first raised prices for the US route, followed by Europe. Data shows that on July 28, the freight rate from Shanghai to Europe rose by more than 30%. Last week, the industry's European shipping costs had risen by about 0.5 yuan/kg. Europe and the United States are the core markets for cross-border sellers to go overseas. With the further adjustment of shipping companies' capacity, sellers will face a collective increase in shipping costs in August.

A new round of price increases for ocean freight to the US begins

Following the price increase in mid-July, as of last week, many cross-border logistics companies have received news that there will be a new round of price increases for containers on the US route in August. Currently, some companies have adjusted their quotations.

"Our general ship prices have increased by about 0.2-0.3 (yuan/kg), which will take effect on August 1st." A Shenzhen freight forwarder told Ennet. Companies that have not yet adjusted their prices have also made preparations . Freight forwarder Dapeng said that the company has not adjusted the US route freight rates yet, but last week it had warned that there would be a fluctuation of 0.2-0.5 (yuan/kg). " The price of general ship containers on the US route will increase by about 500 US dollars, and our price list will also be released today." Freight forwarder Lao Guo said.

Judging from feedback from the industry, a new round of general price increases will be inevitable.

According to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange's export container report, last week's transportation demand remained at a high level, supply and demand were good, and market freight rates continued to rise. On July 28, the market freight rates (sea freight and sea freight surcharges) from Shanghai Port to the West Coast and East Coast base ports of the United States were US$1,943/FEU and US$2,853/FEU, respectively, up 10.1% and 6.6% from the previous period.

Prior to this, on July 14, the shipping rates from Shanghai Port to the West Coast and East Coast of the US were US$1,771/FEU and US$2,662/FEU, respectively, up 26.1% and 12.4% from the previous period; on June 30, the freight rates from Shanghai Port to the West Coast and East Coast of the US were US$1,408/FEU and US$2,368/FEU, respectively, up 20.0% and 14.9% from the previous period.

So far, the shipping price to the United States has tripled in the past month. Compared with the end of June, the current shipping price to the West Coast of the United States has increased by nearly 40%, and the increase to the East Coast of the United States has also reached 20%. These costs will inevitably be transferred to the sellers.

With the regulation of shipping companies, the prices of shipping costs on European and American routes have risen sharply. A freight forwarder in Ningbo said that shipping companies have increased freight rates several times recently, once on July 1, once on July 15, and once again on August 1. Now the price of a 40HQ container from COSCO to Los Angeles, the United States is US$2,000, and the company's quotation per party has increased by about 30 yuan.

Not only the US route, but European shipping prices have also begun to soar recently, and this was quickly reflected on the receiving end.

Freight rates on European routes surged by 30%, and freight forwarders followed suit

Shipping companies reduced capacity on the US route and saw good results from price increases, so they applied this experience to the European route. Last week, the demand for European routes improved, and shipping companies began to implement price increase plans, which immediately pushed up market freight rates. On July 28, the market freight rate for exports from Shanghai Port to European base ports was US$975/TEU, a sharp increase of 31.4% from the previous period.

Dapeng said that the price of European routes had increased last week, and it was also fluctuating by about 0.5 yuan/kg. The current price of the German route was about 8 yuan/kg. Another freight forwarder also said that the price of the British route had increased last week.

"Like COSCO, EMC, ONE, and CMA, they announced price increases in the middle of the month. There were warehouse explosions and container dumping. Recently, we have encountered several delays due to container dumping and ship change." Dapeng said, "Many European and American routes use containers from these shipping companies, so if the shipping company explodes, whether you are going to Europe or the United States, you may be affected."

Data released by Ningbo Shipping Exchange on July 28 showed that in terms of Europe-Europe routes, liner companies collectively raised the freight rates for voyages starting after August, and the freight rates in the Europe-Europe route market rose sharply. Among them, the weekly increase in freight rates on European routes was the largest since 2019. The freight rate index for European routes was 724.7 points, up 56.9% from last week; the freight rate index for Eastern Europe routes was 829.2 points, up 18.8% from last week; and the freight rate index for Western Europe routes was 980.9 points, up 20.7% from last week.

In fact, the economic recovery in Europe is not optimistic. This wave of freight rate increases is mainly driven by shipping companies, and there is still surplus capacity in the market. In this case, if shipping companies can unite to continue to control prices, shipping prices will continue to remain high.

Sellers should pay attention to these when shipping

Freight costs continue to rise, but amid fierce price competition, some freight forwarders still hope to grab goods at low prices, which may give rise to new operating risks.

A freight forwarder said bluntly: "This wave of price increases is good, but there are always some who don't play by the rules, and that's not the case with price increases." In his opinion, the FBA first leg is too transparent and too complicated, with many twists and turns, and it's difficult to be a customer. Companies that only do FBA first leg may face greater risks.

He analyzed that if a company only takes FBA as one of its business segments, and the company also has traditional express delivery, air transportation, and sea transportation, then even if the FBA business does not make money, other segments can still break even or make money, and will not be under pressure. Currently, most of the companies that are said to have gone bankrupt are companies that do FBA special lines, and they are large and small, but it is rare to see any large traditional logistics companies go bankrupt .

" Nowadays, dedicated lines are like gambling. You are the banker. If you bet right, you win. If you lose, you go bankrupt and issue a notice . "

As news of bankruptcy continues to spread, sellers' sense of security has decreased, and they hope to use the "logistics company blacklist" to avoid bankruptcy. Recently, the number of sellers asking for blacklists has increased significantly. However, in the view of the freight forwarder, the role of blacklists is also limited. A reliable method is for sellers to find a few larger companies and try to ship goods to them for a long time, instead of just going with the cheapest ones.

As the peak season approaches, market freight volume will gradually increase.

A logistics company analyzed that based on the delivery situation in previous years, August and September are the peak periods for traditional foreign trade logistics, so the transportation capacity in the next two months will be further tightened. At the same time, since Amazon's warehouse reservation problem has not yet been better solved, the time for warehouse entry and listing will also be extended. It is recommended that sellers with urgent replenishment needs can give priority to channels such as Meisen to ensure timeliness; and appropriate logistics time should also be reserved for other channels.

In addition, sellers need to pay attention to shipping details.

At present, high temperature not only affects the speed of shipping, but also affects the recognition of labels. Generally speaking, in order to avoid getting wet or dirty, sellers will cover the shipping labels with tape when shipping, and some even tie up the boxes. However, the freight forwarder said: "Under continuous high temperature, FBA labels will oxidize, so do not cover the labels with tape." Sellers can also pay attention to the operation.