Xeneta urges carriers to stop calling at the same hubs in Asia and Europe

Shippers should keep their cool and refrain from panicking, as was seen in the first four months of this year with increased imports, especially in Europe, he added. This increased demand ahead of the traditional third-quarter peak period is one of the factors boosting the market.

Xeneta urged ocean freight carriers to take steps to reduce port congestion and stop calling at the same transshipment hubs in Asia and Europe. The company warned that without this and a change in the situation in the Red Sea, spot rates will continue to climb. It urged shippers to refrain from pressing the panic button as was seen in the first four months of this year.

Average spot rates from the Far East to Northern Europe continued to rise in July to $7,897 per FEU. This means that spot rates in this market have now passed the midpoint (53%) of the run-up to the pandemic peak of $14,783 in January 2022.

The Norway-based ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analysis platform noted that it is easy to advise shippers not to panic, but they are seeing average spot rates increase by more than 300% in a matter of months and their containers containing essential cargo being overturned.

Average spot rates on trades from the Far East to the US East Coast and West Coast are even closer to their pandemic peaks of early 2022, at 72% and 79% respectively.

It is therefore entirely understandable that a shipper’s sole objective is to protect its individual supply chains and business interests, Xeneta said.

They will do whatever they can to achieve this, whether by pre-importing or paying higher rates to secure space for their cargo on ships.

At this stage, the spot market may not reach the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic, but this cannot be completely ruled out and the response of shippers and carriers in the coming months could be decisive, Xeneta added.

Fibre2Fashion (DS) Press Office