Situation

Following Golden Week, booking activity rebounded quickly. Carriers blanked several sailings around the holiday, causing some cargo to be rolled over to later departures. The resulting backlog and reduced capacity helped them keep rates stable, and spot rates have risen over the past two weeks.

Congestion in Asian ports remains unresolved and is causing supply chain issues and schedule delays. Several vessels have changed their routes from the Cape of Good Hope to the Suez Canal to make up for delays caused by port congestion.

Obstacles

Congestion in Europe will increase in the coming weeks and months, with bigger vessels arriving as well as additional rerouted ships. This will create berthing issues, and already congested ports such as Rotterdam and Antwerp will see further delays in the next two months. Of course, this will also effect vessel availability for the return trip to Asia. It is expected that several vessels will also transit the Suez Canal eastbound to shorten transit times.

Outlook

Demand and bookings will grow, and we expect space to become tight in November and December. We are also seeing seasonal goods being prepared for shipment from Asia, which is likely to increase demand and put upward pressure on spot rates. It is therefore possible that peak season surcharges will reappear for long-term contract cargo on this trade.

Main Ports: Far East to North Europe

^{Source: Market average rates for 40‘ containers according to www.xeneta.com}

Main Ports: Far East to Mediterranean