The Xeneta Weekly Ocean Container Shipping Market Update provides data and intelligence including the latest freight rate and capacity movements across global trades with supporting insight from Emily Stausbøll, Xeneta Senior Shipping Analyst.
Xeneta analyst insight
Emily Stausbøll, Xeneta Senior Shipping Analyst:
“Spot rates on major ocean container shipping trades from Far East to US and Europe have softened this week in a sign the triple-digit percentage spikes caused by the Middle East conflict appear to have peaked. Far East to US West Coast is down 5% week-on-week and Mediterranean is down 2%, while US East Coast and North Europe are both down 1%, with further decreases expected.
“The shift is driven by carriers continuing to ramp up offered capacity across the main fronthaul trades and the frontloading demand that fuelled the spike beginning to ease.
“Shippers pulled forward volumes at the start of peak season to avoid expected Q3 bunker adjustment factor increases and protect supply chains from the Middle East disruption rippling across global trades. The irony is this frontloading contributed to a capacity squeeze that then pushed spot rates higher than they likely would have been otherwise. Shippers will understandably take action to protect supply chains in the face of threats such as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but this can make the situation worse. (....)