The Shanghai Export Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) has risen for two consecutive times. Although the freight rate of the US-West route is still at a new low this year, as China gradually lifts the lockdown and resumes work, the peak season of the container shipping market is expected to come earlier this year.

On May 27, the Shanghai Stock Exchange announced the latest SCFI index, which rose 12.66 points to 4175.35 points. The three major long-haul routes fell two and rose one. Among them, the freight rate per FEU on the US West route fell by US$112 to US$7,776, a decrease of 1.4%, which was a new low this year; the FEU per FEU on the US East Line fell by US$55 to US$10,505, a decrease of 0.5%, which was the lowest point in the past two months; The European line rebounded slightly, and the freight rate per TEU rose slightly by US$3 to US$5,865.

Industry insiders believe that Shanghai, Suzhou and Kunshan will resume work one after another, which is expected to usher in a wave of retaliatory shipments. In addition, the traditional peak season in the third quarter is approaching, and Europe and the United States are expected to see a wave of goods, and the peak season performance can be expected.

In addition, the labor-management negotiations at the US-West Wharf are also a major variable, especially the rare support of the US-East trade unions this time, which may threaten the smoothness of the subsequent port supply chain. The industry pointed out that the container shipping company has made considerable profits. The conditions for the exchange of contracts for the dock workers may be more, and it may not be easy to reach an agreement in the short term. It is not ruled out that there may still be a peak season strike this year.

In order to avoid port congestion, U.S. importers have stocked up in advance to ensure that the year-end holiday commodities can arrive before the fall. It is expected that the peak market season in the United States this year will be several weeks earlier than in previous years to the end of June, and ports are ready to deal with the surge in imports. However, the industry generally believes that the peak season transportation situation this year will not improve compared with last year.

In order to avoid congested western US ports, container shipping companies have caused an increase in unloading at ports such as the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern US. The latest data on May 23 showed that the number of ships waiting in line at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach fell to 28, the lowest level since the beginning of August last year, and a sharp decrease from 109 ships in January this year. However, the average number of party ships per day increased to 18 in the eastern New York port in the New Jersey port, the fourth largest port in the United States.

Although there are recent signs of a slowdown in U.S. container shipping demand, data show that the import volume of major U.S. ports in the first quarter of this year still increased by 6.6% compared with the same period last year. Ports are closely monitoring whether the resumption of production in Chinese factories will affect the import volume. In addition, the months-long labor negotiations between U.S. and western dock workers may also lead to business disruptions, and all sectors of society are eagerly awaiting the possibility of more shipping delays.

Shenzhen Xunlaitong specializes in shipping export from Shenzhen to Australia & New Zealand, Germany, Netherlands and more business

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