The fake "rebound": multimodal network news digest - issue #19

Reacting to the drastic drop in demand, carriers have been adding more and more blank sailings, especially for imports to North America and Europe, but not that much for Asia-Europe. At first glance, it may seem that this strategy has triggered a rates rebound (for example, Asia-US west coast rates increased 11% week on week, to $2,763 per 40ft and Asia-US east coast prices went up 2% week on week, to $5,767 per 40ft.) However, on a global scale, the situation remains complex - WCI hit its lowest $2,773 over the past 24 months.

Guangzhou may face a lockdown due to the spike in COVID cases. Overall, Chinese ports have been affected greatly with Ningbo-Zhoushan taking the largest hit, where volumes fell 29% compared to the start of October.

The US imports are stabilizing mainly thanks to a much smaller month-on-month drop at California ports. Since the shift to the East ports occurred, the delays have also shortened. The average delays at the top five West Coast ports fell 40% from January through October.

India’s exports bounce back to the pre-COVID normality. Containers are available, there is no shortage of inventory in the majority of the ports, and the waiting time is not that long. With India becoming attractive for foreign investments, the government has decided to promote local exporters by allowing international trade settlements in rupees.

Strikes

• The basic agreement has been achieved in Liverpool. PPG fully accepted the deal to increase basic pay by 9%in a vote on 10 November. The workflow is expected to restore. 
• Strikes in Spain resulted in the cancellation of 200 trains. This will impact a host of large and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the supply chain in general. 
• The strike in the Port of Antwerp lasted from November 9 to November 10. 

Routes and services 

• There is no precise date when, but Maersk intends to launch Bangladesh-India inland services following the series of successful trials of using Bangladesh ports as a transit point to and from East India. 
• Maersk will introduce a fuel surcharge for rail, combined, and intermodal transport services in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Poland because of the energy crisis. The increase is expected to be up to 20% over the standard inland transport tariff.
• A train journey from Xi’an in China to Duisburg in Germany has set a new record - the distance was completed in 10 days. According to officials, this service is prioritized over other Eurasian services. 
• SAFEEN Feeders has started its UAE-Red Sea service including Fujairah Terminals and Jeddah. The Red Sea service will connect directly Khalifa Port and Port Suda. 

Other 

• Another claim accusing Maersk and MSC of exploiting their dominance has been made this time by the Brazilian Association of Port Terminals. The Association claims that the industry giants directed cargo to the seven port terminals they own while those terminals handle almost half of Brazil’s containerized cargo.
• A new milestone on the Silk Road: the 6 000 train trip went through the border point of the Khorgos dry port in Kazakhastan. 
• Ports in Florida are slowly reopening after Hurricane Nicole hit the region. Port of Everglades, Port Tampa Bay, Port of Palm Beach, Port Miami, JAXPORT have resumed their work. 

These are only several changes that occurred in more than 250 bn freight rates across 25 million routes with more than 1 million market players. Want to share some news about your company, services, and routes? Just post them on MAXMODAL, a multimodal network that digitally connects routes and rates worldwide to automate sales and operations across container transportation & logistics industry. Join to innovate.