DHL’s June Ocean Freight Market update
Blank sailings and delays on the rise According to DHL’s latest Ocean Freight market analysis, transatlantic trade is marked by a higher cargo demand than availability. This is due to the combination of a rise in US imports along with port congestion caused by the pandemic context. As a result, “the trade is heavily impacted by blank sailings and port-omissions implemented by carriers to get back to schedule integrity”
The report further notes: “Contrary to the Europe – Far East and Transpacific trades which have profited from booming Chinese exports, the Europe – North America trade has remained in the doldrums for a long period. Carriers have transferred as much capacity as possible to the two biggest East-West trades, which means that no ships are left now to deal with a surge in European exports to North America. Average weekly capacity in the Asia to North America trade shows a massive increase of 47.6% compared to May 2020”
Indian Ocean Naval Symposium
Reunion Island hosts the 7th IONS as France takes over chairmanship
The 7th edition of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) took place from Monday, June 28 to Thursday, July 1, 2021 on the island of La Reunion (France). The general theme proposed by the host country was the issue of environmental security.
Moreover, the 7th edition of the symposium focused on three working themes: maritime security, interoperability and sharing of maritime information, and assistance to populations affected by natural disasters.
After the chairmanship of Iran, France, a member of the IONS since 2014 will take over the presidency for a two-year mandate. Reunion Island harbours a French military naval base strategically located in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) is an initiative launched by India in February 2008 with the aim to increase maritime cooperation among navies of the Indian Ocean Region and consolidate a common approach to the challenges and responses related to regional issues. The member nations are grouped in four clusters – South Asian Littorals, West Asian Littorals, East African Littorals and South East Asian and Australian Littorals. Members of twenty-five nations, eight observer States and eight States invited by France joined the IONS event held in Reunion Island.
Indian Ocean Naval Symposium
On the 24th of June, Drewry, the Maritime Research and Advisory experts announced that their composite World Container index had increased by 15.9% or $1,104 within a week, reaching a 332% increase from last year’s results. The year-to-date index per 40ft container reached $5,533, which was $3,546 higher than the five-year average of $1,987 per 40ft container… It further noted that freight rates had surged on the transpacific lanes, for instance rates on Shanghai-Rotterdam gained $779 to reach $11,975, a Y-o-Y change of 626%. Drewry expected rates to continue rising in the short term.
Freight-cost surges will likely spike the price of commodities worldwide, generating inflation in economies.
229% Surge in China-U.S. Shipping Costs Drives Inflation Pressure
The cost to ship a box load of goods to the U.S. from China edged close to $10,000 as the world’s biggest economy keeps vacuuming up imports amid slower recoveries from the pandemic from Europe to Asia.
The spot-rate for a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Los Angeles increased to $9,631, up 5% from the previous week and 229% higher than a year ago, according to the Drewry World Container Index published Thursday. A composite index, reflecting eight major trade routes, rose to $8,796, a 333% surge from a year ago. Drewry said it expects rates to increase further in the coming week.
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