Forwarders fear and 'don't have no clue' about freight rates next year

Spot container freight rates are picking up again on most routes, with a big spike expected in January ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Spot container freight rates are on the rise again on most routes

Spot container freight rates are on the rise again on most routes

According to the Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) - on Friday, 15 out of 21 shipping routes recorded record freight rate increases amid daily capacity scarce.

According to Drewry's World Container Index - WCI, the Asia-North Europe route was flat, remaining unchanged at $13,564/40ft, while the Baltic Freightos Index (FBX) increased 1%. , to $14,345, and the Xeneta Index (XSI-C) rose 3% to $14,443 per 40ft container.

A number of shipping lines are now said to be quoting freight forwarders and NVOCCs for the Asia-North Europe route that is only valid for two weeks and rejecting short-term contract arrangements before the Lunar New Year in February.

A UK-based NVOCC company with an office in China told The Loadstar last week that its shipping line representatives repeatedly "made excuses", delayed contract negotiations and had not refers to the carrier's contract policy for the coming year.

For this NVOCC company and many other small and medium-sized customers of the shipping line, their 2022 plan is still uncertain.

People are saying to each other, 'let’s talk after Lunar New Year,' the company added.

Another UK-based forwarder told The Loadstar he was "fearing the worst" that other shipping lines would follow Maersk's example, making it harder for small shippers to get stable rates in the next year.

Our customers want to know how much their freight costs will be next year and, with only a couple of weeks to go, we really do not have a clue,” the company said.

Meanwhile, on the transpacific trade, WCI last week showed rates for Asia-US West Coast increased 5%, to $10,138/40ft, and 4% for East Coast ports, to $13,118. FBX, including underwriting fees, inched up 1% for West Coast ports, to $14,924 per 40ft container, while East Coast ports recorded a 2.5% increase, to $17,195.

Although the peak season has passed, demand is "still high".

Among ships still waiting to dock at the San Pedro Bay ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the 3,398-teu chartered Zhong Gu Shan Dong has been anchored for 51 days, still with no signal of the time point for the loading and unloading operation to begin. This idling cost alone means charterers pay a hefty sum, estimated by one broker to be more than $5 million.

Meanwhile, a Chinese forwarder told The Loadstar this past week, indicating that since the Lunar New Year falls at the same time as the Beijing Winter Olympics (February 4-20), the main The government will encourage factories to stay open during the holiday, so there won't be a drop in output during the usual Lunar New Year period.

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