A $2,000 increase in one week! Freight rates have skyrocketed again, and many sellers cannot book space in April even if they pay more...

The Suez Canal is finally open, but its blockage for a few days caused huge fluctuations in global shipping. Whether it is logistics companies selling anxiety and taking the opportunity to raise prices, or the shipping capacity is already overwhelmed, a new round of major changes in freight rates is actually happening. What's more frightening is that the situation of soaring freight rates and "hard to get a box" has not only returned, but has become even more powerful!

In anticipation of a shortage of available shipping capacity, Maersk has suspended some short-term export bookings in Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, etc. A freight forwarder has already issued a notice that COSCO Shipping's Red Sea RES1 line will be suspended on April 5, April 12, and April 19.

Another freight forwarder said that shipping companies have begun to take the opportunity to raise prices. The European Red Sea price increased by US$2,000 in a week. The US routes that have nothing to do with the Suez Canal have also seen a recent price increase of around 40% to 50%.

In addition, customs' strict inspection of textiles continues, and more logistics companies have expressed their intention to suspend the acceptance of pure textiles.

"Every order we accept is a loss, the more we accept, the more we lose. The price increase for customers cannot keep up with the price increase for logistics." Freight forwarders are suffering from losses, and sellers are speechless as they watch their profits being eroded with tears in their eyes...

Freight forwarder issued a notice: COSCO's Red Sea related routes will be suspended!

Recently, such a piece of news has been spreading wildly in the cross-border circle ↓↓↓

Notice from COSCO Shipping Corporation:

Due to the blockage of the Suez Canal, the Red Sea has unprecedentedly suspended sailings in April. According to the latest plan, the Red Sea RES1 line will be suspended on April 5, April 12, and April 19. In addition, we need to clear the transit cargo that we have already packed at the end of March, so we cannot accept new orders from the Red Sea in April.

Due to the large number of sailing suspensions, the goods that have been loaded in containers at the end of March and the beginning of April are expected to be held at the port for 2-5 weeks. Please be sure to inform your customers.

Taking into account the suspension of flights, customers who have booked but have not picked up their containers between April 1st and April 15th are requested to stop picking up their containers.

In addition, Yien.com learned that at 4 pm on March 31, COSCO Shipping published an announcement on its official website regarding ships affected by the Suez Canal blockage↓

The picture above shows the situation of some of COSCO Shipping’s ships being affected. Sellers can check whether their goods are on these ships.

Maersk suspends some short-term export bookings in Asia, Europe, North America, Africa and other places!

Maersk, one of the world's largest container shipping operators and container ship suppliers, also released the latest news that it will suspend some short-term export bookings in Asia, Europe, North America, Africa and other places!

“We have nearly 50 vessels that have been delayed for a full week or more due to the Suez Canal blockage, either waiting in the canal or being diverted to southern Africa,” Maersk said.

We are doing our best to mitigate the impact of capacity loss, therefore we have decided to temporarily suspend short-term bookings through spot and short-term contracts for this week and selected recent transactions.

The specific suspended areas are shown in the figure below ↓

From the announcement released by Maersk, it can be seen that Maersk will suspend booking services for exports to Asia, western Central Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America and parts of Africa in the near future. This shows that there will be a shortage of shipping capacity in the recent period and it will become difficult for sellers to ship goods.

Maersk also said: “We are doing our best to mitigate the impact and are still working on contingency plans, but depending on market dynamics, capacity losses will reach 20% to 30% within a few weeks.”

European port congestion worsens, and port pressure further increases

Data shows that $83.21 billion worth of containerized goods have been stranded in the Suez Canal over the past week . In a few days, as the impact of the closure spreads across Europe, the number of ships arriving in northern Europe will drop sharply, which will last for a week, and many major European ports have been severely coerced.

Hapag Lloyd warned yesterday: “Ongoing congestion and delays at most European ports are leading to persistent and extreme delays for ocean-going vessels at the PSA terminal in Antwerp. Last week’s incident in the Suez Canal will lead to further delays for vessels and pressure at the terminal will increase further.”

Caroline Bequart, senior vice president of Mediterranean Shipping Company ( MSC), the world's second-largest container shipping company, said: "There is no doubt that the current blockage of the Suez Canal will cause one of the largest disruptions to global trade in recent years. We expect disruptions in the second quarter of 2021 to be more severe than in the first three months and may even be more challenging than at the end of last year."

A freight forwarder also kindly reminded sellers that cargo ships that had previously gone around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to avoid blocked canals will arrive at various ports in Europe at the same time as cargo ships after the canal is reopened. Then there will be another wave of port congestion in 20 days. Therefore, sellers are advised to plan for this issue in advance to avoid delays in delivery and replenishment later.

Shipping companies took the opportunity to raise prices, freight forwarders: My life is not easy

Amid this wave of logistics turmoil, freight forwarders’ complaints can be summed up in one sentence: My life is not easy!

When the Suez Canal was still blocked, some industry insiders predicted in advance that shipowners on the European and American lines would begin to sell anxiety again and were planning to raise prices.

"Shipping companies are increasingly confident that freight rates will remain high for the next few years, so they are still renting ships for long periods at high daily rates from 16 years ago." A freight forwarder sincerely reminded everyone at the end of March: Attention! Starting from April, the latest wave of price increases for shipping rates, peak season surcharges, and freight rates is coming!

As expected!

According to CCTV Finance, the head of Ningbo's largest local logistics company said: Shipping companies have taken the opportunity to raise prices. The European Red Sea has increased by $2,000 a week. The US route, which has nothing to do with the Suez Canal, has also recently increased by about 40% to 50%. It is expected that sea freight will remain high in the second quarter of this year. At the same time, with the arrival of the traditional peak shipping season for manufacturing companies, the situation of "hard to get a box" has reappeared. Many companies have begun to have difficulty booking space in April.

Under the current situation, many freight forwarders expressed their fatigue:

A: The ultimate loss still falls on the shipper, who not only bears the risk of cargo damage or overdue, but also has to bear the high freight rates of the shipping company.

B: It is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Shipping companies no longer know how to do business properly.

C: I'm working on the US-Canada route, and I'm really tired of trying to get space lately.

No matter what, I still hope that the majority of logistics people can hold on!

Strict inspection and upgrading! It is too difficult to export textiles to Europe and the United States

Recently, Europe's strict inspection of textiles has become well known to the public. The latest news shows that customs inspection of textiles has become even more severe!

The editor saw a freight forwarder send out such a notice in the circle of friends ↓

European A/C Line, European Ocean Shipping Channel: Due to the recent increase in the inspection rate of textiles and footwear, we will suspend the acceptance of pure textiles (clothes, quilt covers, blankets, bags, gloves, hats) and footwear from now on. If there are other changes, we will notify you separately, please be informed!

The freight forwarder said: "At present, the UK can receive textiles normally. As for the EU, although we have normal customs declaration and no problem in sending textiles, we often encounter customs inspections, which will affect the timeliness..."

In addition, many freight forwarders have issued notices about the US Customs' strict inspection of cotton-containing products. One freight forwarder issued a notice stating that the US CPSC department and customs are strictly inspecting cotton-containing products. Our company is unable to identify the cotton origin of the product material. The goods will be received and shipped normally. If customs inspection, CPSC or relevant departments detain or destroy them, resulting in failure to clear customs, our company will not make any compensation for losses.

We hope that sellers can pay attention to the latest logistics information in a timely manner and make plans in advance to avoid delays in logistics time after the goods are inspected.