Zencargo Market Update: 20th June

China

Ocean

• China’s port congestion is easing as the backlog of vessels accumulated during the lockdown period is under more control
  • Despite another round of mass testing in Shanghai, ports are operating as usual.
  • The majority of cities outside of Shanghai are accepting entry of trucks and drivers provided they produce a negative Covid test.
  • Although volumes of exports are increasing from China, this has not caused a surge of into Western ports as of yet. 

Air

Central China to USA and Europe

• From SHA to the USA and Europe, many flights have been cancelled this week. 
  • Capacity is therefore a little tight this week.
  • Please book space as early as possible.
  • However, PVG Airport operations are improving. Operations such as customs entry and inland transportation will be back to normal service within the one to two weeks. 
• This week, rates from NGB Airport to the USA and Europe have increased.
  • Final rates depend 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. 
  • Rates are stable to both the USA and Europe. 
  • 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 remain the same level as last week from PEK to Europe and the USA.
  • COVID restrictions continue to be tight; capacity and airport handling processes have longer operational lead times. 
  • Truckers are limited for cross-city services. 
• Please work with your freight forwarding partners to reconfirm rates and space 4 to 5 days in advance. 

South China to USA and Europe

• From CAN to Europe and the USA, the market is calm. 
  • Shipments need to be checked with carriers on a case-by case basis. 
• From SZX Airport, the rate is stable to the US but has decreased to Europe. 
• From XMN Airport, rates have decreased this week to Europe but have kept the same for the USA. 
  • All shipments need to be checked on a case-by-case basis. 

USA

Ocean

• Despite inflation, US ports still expect a strong peak season. 
  • The Port of Los Angeles Executive Director, Gene Seroka has commented that peak season cargo is on the way with arrivals beginning at the end of this month.
  • Seroka has commented that the ‘imports remain high coming from Asia to Los Angeles’.
• Southern California’s ship queue is getting shorter. 
  • There were 27 container vessels waiting for berths in the Port of LA and Long Beach last Tuesday. 
  • This is a significant decrease compared to 109 containerships waiting in January. 
• Rail dwell times have increased in recent weeks. 
  • This has been attributed to insufficient locomotives, rail cars and crews.
  • There is a worsening shortage of chassis and importers are being blamed for holding onto containers on chassis as supplemental storage space while their warehouses are full. 

Benelux

Ocean

• The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is preparing for another strike.
  • This comes as the Belgian port is suffering from high congestion.
  • Trade unions have demanded better pay, better social dialogue and investment in the public sector. 
  • Hapag-Lloyd suspended barge services in the city this month on the back of growing terminal congestion. 
  • Barge operator Contargo, have stated that wait times have increased to 46 hours as of 9th June compared to 33 hours at the end of May. 

United Kingdom

Ocean

• Maersk has changed its strategy to ease congestion at North European ports. 
  • The carrier is looking to overland containers from the Far East at less-congested North European ports.
  • Maersk is also evacuating long-stay imports to off-dock storage facilities.
  • The carrier’s Bremerhaven hub has reached ‘critical level’, impacting yard density and waiting times at the port. 
  • At Hamburg, Maersk said that yard density remained ‘challengingly high’ and noted the industrial action at the port about wage negotiations. 

Road/Rail

• Rail strikes in the UK threaten to cause traffic delays as more people switch to road transport.
  • The strike is set to happen on 21st, 23rd and 25th June as thousands of workers are expected to walk out during the week.
  • More than a third of train journeys are taken by commuters so road traffic increase is likely.
• Protestors plan to block bridges over increasing fuel costs
  • The M4 and M48 bridges over the River Severn are at risk of being blocked on 4th July.
  • The protests campaigns to draw attention to rising fuel prices and the impact the hikes in cost are having on people’s lives. 
• The UK Government unveiled a multi-million pound new plan to create a more sustainable haulage sector as part of the Future of Freight plan.
  • The £7 million investment will aim to boost innovative technology to help decarbonise and digitalise the haulage sector. 
  • It will support businesses to operate efficiently and get their goods delivered on-time at a reasonable cost. 
• High speed railway line planned from Istanbul to Bulgaria. 
  • The Halkalı – Kapikule project, which is scheduled to be completed this year, will reduce the journey from Istanbul to the Bulgarian border to 3.5 hours.
  • The project will enable the movement of trains at a speed of 200kmph. The railway lines are there to boost rail freight traffic as much as passenger movement. 

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.

June 22nd – HR

June 23rd – EE, LU, LV

June 24th – EE, LT, LV

June 25th – FI, HR, SE, SI

June 28th – UA

June 29th – CH

July 3rd – BY

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