Zencargo Market Update: 4th July

China

Ocean

• According to Maersk, Shanghai is returning to normality after its two-month lockdown.
  • Export empty container pick-ups and laden gate-in volumes have recovered to 98% and 80% of normal weekly levels respectively.
  • Forecasted demand is expected to return to normal at the end of June.
  • Demand is expected to increase during peak season in July for many trades. 

Air

Central China to USA and Europe

• From SHA to Europe, rates have decreased a little but are relatively stable compared to last week. Rates are stable from SHA to the USA. 
• PVG airport operations are still slowly recovering since lockdowns have lifted in Shanghai. 
• This week, rates from NGB Airport have decreased to the USA and remained the same for Europe. 
  • Final rates should be checked on a case-by-case basis. 

North China to USA and Europe

• From TSN to Europe and the USA, Korean Air or Asiana Airlines are available to provide space for any urgent bookings. 
  • Spot rates are available for dense cargo with longer transit times. 
  • As lockdown restrictions have been lifted in this area, trucking services will resume to normal.
  • Terminal operations are also expected to run more smoothly this week compared to previous weeks. 
• From TAO to Europe, air freight has increased compared to last week. 
  • Air China Airlines to London Heathrow Airport has not returned to normal. 
  • Beijing Capital Airlines have also cancelled their direct flights to London Heathrow Airport. 
• From TAO to the USA, rates have decreased since last week and there is more capacity.
  • Trucking has resumed to its normal services as Covid-19 has eased in the TSN area.
  • Operations at TSN terminals are expected to run more smoothly compared to previous weeks. 
• Rates have increased from PEK to Europe and the USA and space is tight. 
  • From PEK to Europe, Air China has suspended its direct flight to London Heathrow since 1st July. 
  • Due to the hot and rainy season, some carriers have taken on less volume and have even cancelled or rescheduled their flights on both routes.

South China to USA and Europe

• From CAN to Europe and the USA, rates need to be checked with carriers on a case-by case basis. 
• From SZX Airport, the rates are stable to the US but have increased to Europe. 
  • Rates for high density goods can be negotiated with carriers on a case-by-case basis. 
• From XMN Airport, rates have remained the same to both Europe and the USA. 
  • All shipments need to be checked on a case-by-case basis. 

USA

Ocean

• The labour contract between the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) expired on 1st July.

• • However, labour negotiations for the new contract for more than 20,000 dockworkers in the US West Coast will continue to go ahead. 
  • Despite the contract expiring, both parties have agreed to keep cargo moving at the US West Coast ports. 
• Import containers continue to build up in terminal yards at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
  • On 25th October 2021, the ports announced a container dwell fee which will charge ocean carriers $100 per container per day if their container has stayed on the docks for more than nine days. The fee will then increase by an additional $100 per day until the container is picked up. 
  • The two ports announced last Friday that the implementation of the fee would be delayed again as there has been a combined drop of 31% in long-dwelling containers since October. 
  • However, as of last Wednesday, the Port of Long Beach had a total of 20,501 containers on its terminals for nine days or longer. This is 25% higher compared to 20th November where there were 16,398 containers dwelling nine days or more at the port. 
  • Similarly, the Port of Los Angeles reported a total of 28,431 containers dwelling for nine days or more on Wednesday. It has been reported that this has decreased by 24% since 24th October. 
    • However, in early February, long-dwell containers totalled to around 10,000. The latest numbers are almost triple that amount. 

Benelux

Ocean

• According to Hapag-Lloyd, labour availability at the PSA terminal in Antwerp remains stable. 
  • Yard utilisation at 869 is 81% and at 913 it is at 82% utilisation. 
  • Upcoming holiday season may lead to a reduction in labour availability.
• At the Europe Container Terminals in Rotterdam, less gangs are being deployed due to the start of the holiday season. 
  • COVID infections have also been reported amongst the workforce, impacting labour availability.
  • Yard level at DDE has increased to 85%. 
  • The terminal is seeing long dwell times for transhipment and import cargo, however there are signs that pick up rates have improved. 
• At Rotterdam World Gateway, labour availability remains stable. However, the start of the school holidays in coming weeks will put labour under pressure. 
  • Yard utilisation is 85% and reefers are at 60%. 
  • Acceptance of export cargo at this terminal is 8 days in advance of a vessel’s estimated time of arrival. 
  • The terminal is not accepting empty containers until further notice. 

Germany

Ocean

• Labour shortages and strikes at European ports including Hamburg, Emden, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven have created a pile-up of export containers bound for the US.
  • This is expected to take months to clear out and some of the items that are to be exported are components such as lithium batteries to help fully assemble automobiles as well as a wide variety of auto parts and chassis. 
  • The congestion from these ports has now spread to other major European ports.
  • There have been reports on the slowdown on vessel arrivals, a lack of container availability and trucking shortages. 
  • The German trade union Verdi and the Central Association of German Seaport Companies (ZDS) will enter into their sixth round of pay negotiations on Tuesday. 

Air

• Frankfurt Airport has been forced to cue some freighter flights due to labour shortages and extreme traffic peaks. 
  • The airport’s ground handling arm, BVD, has asked certain cargo flights not to route flights through Frankfurt until the end of August.
  • The handler has announced that Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays will be affected by shortages. 

United Kingdom

Road/Rail

• Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Freight has expressed interest to boost unaccompanied freight to link inland UK destinations with Europe. Unaccompanied freight is the transport of freight without a driver and cab. 
  • Since launching last September, the company has ramped up its pace, especially since March 2022. 
  • Eurotunnel believes that their Border Pass can help navigate the road and rail freight complexities such as a shortage of haulage drivers and complex border controls due to Brexit.
  • The Border Pass  is a digital wallet carried by drivers that allows information to be transferred from the hauliers to Eurotunnel and then to the authorities in both countries in a secure and digital way. 
  • The aim is to save drivers time on the terminals as their vehicles are automatically identified on arrival. 

European Bank Holidays

We anticipate a shortage of availability and the occurrence of delays around the bank holiday periods. Plan ahead and allow extra time for your products to be delivered.

July 5th – CZ, SK

July 6th – CZ, LT

July 10th – TR

July 11th – TR

July 12th – Northern Ireland, TR

July 13th – ME, TR

July 14th – FR, ME

July 21st – BE

*Not in all regions