Ocean Shipping
Rates have continued to remain relatively low, as is tradition following the Chinese New Year shut down. However, several carriers have announced a significant General Rate Increase (GRI) will be coming in March. Market conditions are not ideal for a GRI to hold, but we will be monitoring the situation very closely during the next week.
Following the introduction of new alliances and new sailing schedules, Asia-European capacity has reduced by 11%. Prior to this month, the weekly capacity was around 249,000 TEU combined, but that figure has reduced to 211,000. This will probably not impact available space while demand is low, but could be significant further into the year if no further capacity is added.
Despite the Houthi stopping attacks, in line with the Gaza ceasefire, there is no indication of any major carriers planning to return to the Red Sea and Suez Canal route at this time.
Many ports in Asia, including Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, and Yantian, along with a number of ports in South East Asia, continue to be impacted by delays due to congestion.
As highlighted in our recent report on European ports (here), several ports in Europe are suffering from congestion, with Rotterdam and Le Havre the subject of strikes and work stoppages recently.
The Asia-European market continues to be volatile, which makes longer term predictions incredibly challenging these days. Should you reuire further information, then please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Croft team.
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