The price of Meisen fell below 10? The freight forwarding company went bankrupt again

As July begins , cross-border e-commerce shipments are at a low level. In order to attract customers, many logistics companies have adopted a low-price strategy. This week, a freight forwarder quoted a price of 9 yuan/kg for a regular ship from Matsun. Sellers were surprised by this low price.

Logistics companies accept goods at low prices to survive the trough period, but the risk of freight also increases, and news of bankruptcy is heard from time to time. This week, a seller broke the news that a freight forwarder lost contact after being stuck in a cabinet for several months, which dealt a fatal blow to the seller in question at a time when the exchange rate is low.

The price of Meisen fell below 10 ? Low-cost logistics may be a hidden danger

A logistics company released new freight information, saying that the price of Matson was reduced by 1.5 yuan this week , and the price of Matson scheduled ship was as low as 9 yuan/kg. This offer is obviously lower than the current market price of 11-14 days for scheduled ships and 13-15 days for limited ships, and sellers can't help but feel nervous when seeing it.

The price list shows that for "Meison-Kapai" over 100 kg, the price for self-pickup at warehouses such as LAX9 is 9 yuan/kg, more than a dozen warehouses such as ONT5 and ONT6 are 9.5, and warehouses such as SCK1 are 10.5; for "Meison-UPS" over 100 kg, the price is 11.5 on the west coast, 12.5 in the middle, and 13.5 on the east coast. The time limit for online access after the ship is sailed is 10-12 working days.

Most people think that the price of 9 yuan/kg for Meisen is too low. Some logistics people analyzed that overtime ship dispatch can achieve this price. If the self-pickup warehouse does not need to pay for the goods later, it is ok. If there is a charge, there is no standard.

But if it is a regular ship, it is obviously unreasonable. A logistics person said that the cost of a regular ship container is 20,000 US dollars, and taxes and fees have not been calculated. This price is too low, unless you have ordered a container but there are not enough goods, you have to go ahead with it.

A freight forwarder in Shenzhen told the editor that the current cost of a regular ship is about 10-11 yuan no matter how it is spread out. The reason why this company can offer a price far below the market price is that it either buys sensitive goods at a high price and then buys general goods to cover it , or it uses business tactics to attract new customers and make less loss on small goods to attract new customers first , or it may have taken the container but is really short of goods and does not want an empty container, or it may have requirements for the type of goods, such as requiring heavy goods to be above 1:200 , etc.

Of course, it is not ruled out that they are selling dog meat under the guise of selling sheep meat, and they are arranging overtime ships or other ships for the sellers. One freight forwarder questioned the timeliness of the so-called regular ship, and believed that it was more likely to use CLX+ (Mason overtime ship) or Zim, but definitely not CLX (Mason regular ship). Another one was straightforward: "Ask him, can the customs declaration be sent by Mason regular ship at 9 yuan?"

In addition, the note information in the logistics company's quotation sheet shows "Maston", which was also directly pointed out as a word game.

In the past two months, the price of ocean freight has dropped significantly, but it is still not low compared to before the epidemic. In the first half of the year's performance report, many sellers attributed the "skyrocketing ocean freight costs" as a major factor in the sharp drop in profits. Therefore, when sellers choose freight channels, lower-priced logistics companies have more advantages. In the case of low industry shipments in the recent period, the impact of price factors is particularly obvious.

But the other side of low prices is increased risk. Industry insiders analyzed that many companies currently accept goods at low prices just to survive, and they cannot tolerate any disturbance in the process . Some logistics novices also set up their own delivery companies, but they are not professional enough and can only attract customers at low prices. Once the logistics company is unable to turn over, the sellers are still forced to pay the bill in the end.

Recently, the logistics industry has seen frequent financial failures, and even the "responsibility statement" has lost its effectiveness. Some companies that have been hit by financial failures have announced that they will take responsibility, but then declared bankruptcy or ran away, leaving the sellers very angry and devastated. For example, Shenzhen Quanyi asked customers to raise 4 million yuan to redeem goods due to a broken capital chain . It took only 5 days from shouting to save the market to declaring bankruptcy.

This week, another seller exposed a one-day freight forwarder, saying that the freight forwarder had 18 containers stuck between February and March this year, causing the seller's goods shipped in February to have not yet completed customs clearance. After several months of delays, the freight forwarder began to not respond to messages and phone calls, and moved out of the office. Against the backdrop of the loss of traffic dividends on the Japanese site and the sharp drop in exchange rates this year, this incident dealt a serious blow to the seller in question.

Incidents like these have greatly reduced the trust of industry sellers in the logistics industry.

One of the reasons for the collapse of freight forwarders is that they receive goods at a loss. Previously, various issues in shipping made it impossible for freight forwarders to make predictions. Last year, the demand for shipments from cross-border sellers continued to increase, and coupled with port congestion, shipping prices were continuously pushed up, and some freight forwarders made a lot of money. Because they were optimistic about the market this year, they booked containers in advance at high prices. As a result, at the beginning of this year, affected by the domestic epidemic, many sellers did not ship. When the supply chain recovered, the demand for some non-essential products decreased under inflation in Europe and the United States, and the overall shipment demand of cross-border sellers decreased.

Ocean freight rates fluctuate based on market volume, and prices fall as shipments decrease. In order to absorb the previously high-priced containers, some freight forwarding companies repeatedly lowered prices to receive goods in the first half of this year, grabbing the few available volumes on the market, and some even received goods at a loss, while salesmen also kept going door-to-door to promote their products.

The decline in ocean freight prices may reverse

However, the downward trend in shipping freight rates may be reversed in the second half of this year.

The traditional peak season for shipping starts in August. Currently, ports in the West and East of the United States and Europe are experiencing severe congestion. Port congestion and longer waiting times for containers have led to price increases on some trade routes.

In the case of port congestion, the waiting period for containers is prolonged, which in turn reduces the supply of boxes. Obviously, port congestion has pushed up the price of containers on the US and European trade routes.

Worker strikes and rail disruptions at many European ports have hampered container traffic at German ports, and the impact is spreading to the UK. Container waiting times at the Port of Oakland in the United States have soared to 26.5 days as truck driver protests have led to terminal closures.

As congestion worsens, container prices on the China-U.S. East Coast route have rebounded to $10,000, and the rise in shipping prices may have begun.

As the peak shipping season approaches, the current backlog of containers at ports will only exacerbate congestion and increase waiting times for ships.

“On the East Coast of the United States, congestion at the Port of Savannah remained extremely severe, with average wait times climbing to 7.5 days, a 123% increase compared to the previous quarter,” said a report from Everstream Analytics. The Port of Savannah publicly stated that West Coast labor negotiations and delays in port rail access resulted in significant changes in ship calls, with the port receiving containers diverted from other ports.

In addition, the increase in freight costs is closely related to the order situation during this peak season.

Future bookings tracked by FreightWaves show a decline in the total volume of containers shipped from all Chinese ports to all U.S. ports, reflecting a slowdown in U.S. consumer spending. While the decline in orders should theoretically increase container availability, there is currently a shortage of containers as congestion tightens supply.

Another factor limiting container availability is the cancellation of multiple sailings, with reduced ship movements limiting the amount of container loading space available.

The inability of ships to return normally is also a factor affecting container prices. Alan Baer, ​​CEO of OL-USA, said: "The delays encountered by carriers at US ports have prevented ships from returning to Asia normally. The reduction in transaction volume may initially help ease the pressure on price increases. But if the transaction volume increases in the following peak season, the available space for containers will tighten quickly."

Although some freight forwarders have announced that Matson prices have dropped, the trend of higher sea freight prices in the second half of the year has already emerged.

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