Shipping prices soared, the Ministry of Commerce stated: measures have been taken

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the logistics costs of related sea freight have soared more than 10 times. In addition, the second half of the year is the peak season for sea freight, with strong demand and insufficient shipping capacity, and sea freight prices have soared. Some sellers said that compared with the overall cross-border logistics freight rates in July and August, the increase has been close to 50%.

High freight rates squeeze sellers’ profits. Some sellers said that due to the surge in freight rates, they have been losing money on every order and are still struggling to survive. Even so, it is still difficult to get a box. Currently, some freight forwarders have refused to accept low-value goods. According to the analysis of many industry insiders, the high freight rates for ocean shipping are likely to continue until next year.

Faced with the difficulties in sea transportation, local governments and the Ministry of Commerce have recently stated that they have taken measures to help companies tide over the difficulties.

According to Zhejiang Daily, in response to the difficulties in sea transportation, Zhejiang launched the " one-stop " international container service to collect the container demands of foreign trade companies and feedback the demands to shipping companies and freight forwarding companies one to two months in advance.

Based on the collected demands of enterprises, the Zhejiang Provincial Commerce Department has cooperated with the Provincial Department of Transportation and the Provincial Seaport Group to increase shipping capacity and open e-commerce express routes. In the first half of this year, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port opened 18 new foreign trade routes, including 8 ocean-going trunk routes, and the total number of routes increased to 272 .

In addition , the Zhejiang Provincial Commerce Department also organized foreign trade enterprises to communicate with shipping companies , and promoted 1,580 key foreign trade enterprises in Zhejiang Province to sign cooperation agreements with shipping companies in the form of "quantity and price mutual guarantee" , and the average contract freight rate was reduced by at least 30%.

At a regular press conference held by the Ministry of Commerce on August 26, Gao Feng, spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce , said : " The Ministry of Commerce has worked with the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Market Regulation and other units to actively take measures to increase container supply, improve shipping capacity and strengthen international cooperation. Local governments have also increased shipping service guarantees for small and medium-sized enterprises to help them reduce costs and losses. The Ministry of Commerce will continue to work with relevant departments and localities to further study targeted measures, do a good job in stabilizing foreign trade and unblocking international logistics, strengthen cooperation with various trading partners, and work together to meet challenges. "

The Ministry of Commerce has already expressed its position, and I believe other local governments will also take action. However, rising shipping prices and port congestion have become global problems, and sellers still need to make more preparations.

Ocean Freight

Ministry of Commerce

Cross-border logistics