Competitive Edge
March 9th, 2022
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Ocean Freight Market Update
Headlines
- Freight Waves reports Ethiopian Airlines has reached a preliminary agreement with Boeing for the purchase of five 777-8 freighters, the companies announced.
- Seatrade Maritime reports China’s Ministry of Transport and National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued notice to reduce port charges starting from April 1.
- Maersk, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd have been asked to provide documents and information to explain the reasoning behind increased shipping rates over the past two years, according to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
UPDATE: Notable U.S./Canada Port Congestion
- Houston: 52 Backlogged Vessels
- Charleston: 33 Backlogged Vessels
- Norfolk/Newport News: 35 Backlogged Vessels
- Los Angeles/Long Beach: 57 Backlogged Vessels
- Vancouver: 72 Backlogged Vessels
- New York/Newark: 21 Backlogged Vessels
- Note: This does not include port-bound vessels waiting at ports of origin
IMPORT: Asia to North America (TPEB)
Recent Developments:
- Potential disruptions on TPEB may result from union (ILWU) contracts expiring this June
- Freight All Kinds (FAK) space remains limited as overall capacity remains severely under
Rates: Rate levels remain elevated. Premium market remains strong.
Space: Space remains critical and is expected to stay tight.
Capacity/Equipment: Capacity remains severely under. Equipment deficits critical.
TIPS: Book at least 4 weeks prior to CRD. Strongly consider premium service and carrier IPIs through the PSW gateway. Be flexible as it comes to equipment and routing.
IMPORT: Europe to North America (TAWB)
Recent Developments:
- USEC port congestion swelled with all major ports seeing significant delays and wait times up to 6-8 days
- USWC ports, notably Long Beach/Los Angeles, remain heavily congested with wait times not improving
- Despite, yard congestion at LB/LA has slightly improved
Rates: Rates levels remain high. Rates will increase as PSS announced for March.
Space: Space remains critical, especially for the USWC.
Capacity/Equipment: Capacity remains tight for both North Europe and Mediterranean services. Equipment availability at ports, however shortages remain at inland terminals.
TIPS: Book 5 or more weeks prior to CRD. Strongly consider premium service for higher reliability and no-roll guarantees.
EXPORT: North America to Asia
Recent Developments:
- Diminishing schedule integrity is contributing to void sailings, delays, vessel cut-offs at ports, and challenging post earliest return dates
- Vessel arrivals remain fluid for USWC POLs
- Rail availability for USWC has become limited with carriers firmly adhering to allocations
Rates: GRI activity (limited) announced for March.
Capacity: Available capacity remains fluid for USWC POLs. USEC capacity has become for readily available.
Equipment: IPI origins remain adversely affected by deficits on containers and chassis. Standard equipment availability has not been an issue, but special equipment remains elusive.
TIPS: Book 4 to 6 weeks prior to CRD to secure equipment and vessel space.
AIR FRIEGHT: United States
- Demand to Asia, Europe, and Latin America generally remains stable
- Airlines are back on schedule along with manageable capacity
- Rates to Latin America, Europe, and Asia have not seen considerable changes, but fuel costs are slightly higher.
TIPS: Book early considering the current dwell time at airports.
Did You Know:
Ports in _____ have been seeing success in reefer container exports and imports for the majority of last year – as the Ports handled 452,833 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU’s) in the first 11 months of 2021.
A. Alabama
B. Florida
C. Texas
Read here for the answer or scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to find out!
Freight News
The Port of Charleston extending their regular working hours to try to clear backlogs
In hopes to clear some backlog of their long-dwelling containers, the Port of Charleston is opening their Sunday truck gates for the next six weeks and extending their regular working hours. According to the Journal of Commerce, Wando Welch, North Charleston, and Hugh K. Leatherman terminals are instituting a day shift for non-refrigerated imports and exports on Sundays from March 6th through April 10th – these Sunday hours are in addition to the terminals’ regular weekday and Saturday hours. The JOC continues saying the three terminals will open two hours earlier for regular shifts (3 am on weekdays and 4 am on Saturdays) throughout the next six weeks, for truckers that are moving import containers to Norfolk Southern’s near-dock ramp.
These additional working hours come from the vast buildup of long-dwelling import containers that are sitting at the Port of Charleston terminals. As of Friday, March 4th 18 container ships were listed as waiting at anchor outside Charleston, which is down almost half of what it was on February 23rd (31 vessels) reported the JOC.
ZIM is launching expedited ocean service connecting Southeast Asia with the U.S. East Coast for the first time
ZIM is launching an expedited ocean service that will connect Southeast Asia with the U.S. East Coast for the first time. According to the Journal of Commerce, the new ZIM Ecommerce Baltimore Express (ZXB) will have a full port rotation of Yantian, Cai Mep, Baltimore, New York-New Jersey, Boston, and back to Yantian – which will start later this month. Note: the ZXB will be Baltimore’s only direct service from Vietnam. Since Baltimore is close to many major markets in the East Coast, as well as major cargo owners setting up distribution centers near the Baltimore region, it solidifies Baltimore as an ideal first port of discharge to help prevent certain congestion delays.
Many ZIM customers (& beyond) continue to search for different options that aren’t the U.S. West Coast and with unpredictability regarding longshore labor talks on the USWC, more conversations and options have been had on using the U.S. East Coast instead. This new trans-Atlantic service will start as a bi-weekly service, but ZIM is optimistic that it will turn into a weekly service in the next few months, reported the JOC.
Back in June 2020, ZIM launched a trans-Pacific expedited ocean service targeting the U.S. West Coast, which saw great success; giving ZIM assurance that this new trans-Atlantic service will see similar results.
Blog Of The Week
Three Things to Watch in 2022: Spot Market, Intermodal Services on the Rise, and Last-Mile Delivery Innovation
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B. Florida
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