The ocean freight market is sending very different signals depending where you look across global supply chains. Spot rates on European trades are easing.
Latest Xeneta ocean container shipping data highlights are provided below quotes from Xeneta Chief Analyst Peter Sand.
Xeneta has also published a dedicated webpage with the latest updates on the Middle East conflict including a live port congestion map.
“The ocean freight market is sending very different signals depending where you look across global supply chains. Spot rates on European trades are easing – Far East to North Europe is down around 4% over the past week, Mediterranean down nearly 5%. But on the US-bound trades, rates are still climbing. Far East to US West Coast is up more than 50% since the end of February. That is not a market normalizing from the crisis caused by the Middle East conflict.
“The divergence tells us that the disruption from the Middle East conflict is far from over. Carriers have adapted on the European lanes – new routing patterns are in place and capacity is flowing more predictably. That is bringing some relief to shippers on those corridors. But none of that applies to the Transpacific or Transatlantic, where rates remain elevated and show no sign of retreating.
“Any talk of normalisation needs to account for the fact that the majority of global fronthaul trades are still deep in crisis-level pricing. (....)