As of last Friday, sea freight rates for Asian-North American trade continued to fall as demand for Asian goods remained weak.
However, as lockdown measures in and around Shanghai will relax in the coming weeks, cabin demand will increase. In the past week, shippers' inquiry volume has increased significantly, and freight rates may rise.
Last week, S&P heard that most of the deals were negotiated on a FAK basis, but the expedited class would be $1,000-$3,000 premium over the FAK base rate.
freight forwarding company said: "Everyone is trying to get what they want from China, congestion will reappear, and as the backlog is completed, it will definitely come back."
At the same time, spot premium orders from Southeast Asian ports continue to decline as the market demand for finished products is lukewarm.
Shipping companies expressed concerns due to idle tonnage outside Southeast Asian ports. This has led to a decline in freight rates due to pressure on ship utilization. "Some major shipping companies are currently offering significant freight discounts, and the locking prices in Indonesia have dropped significantly." The
Standard & Poor's learned that booking prices from Indonesia to the east coast of North America are $9,500/FEU and $7,500/FEU to the west coast of North America are $13,600/FEU and $10,100/FEU respectively, compared with the two figures in the market last week.
A source in Singapore said: "The demand for finished products in the region has not grown at the expected rate. The growth space has expanded in the past few weeks, freight rates have declined and are stabilizing at present."
He also added: "As China gradually lifted the lockdown from June 1, we believe that new production capacity in Southeast Asia will not drop rapidly, and prices are expected to rise from mid-June."
The shipping price from Singapore to the East is $11,500/FEU and $9,500/FEU to the West is $9,500/FEU. Spot transactions are only negotiated on a FAK basis, with the premium of the expedited space between $1,000-2,000.
In addition, in the Indian market, booking prices from Chinese ports reacted to news of a gradual opening of the lockdown, rising by $200-400 since early May.
An Indian logistics company said: "The container prices from Chinese ports to India suddenly rose by US$200/TEU and US$400/FEU. The prices from Shanghai to Navasheva have jumped from US$3050/FEU to US$3450/FEU, and prices on all basic ports on the west and east coasts of India have also seen similar increases."
