Situation

Demand slowed down toward the end of July, but we still cannot speak of a “slack season”. Space to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea is becoming more available, and we expect the Western Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea to follow. Vessels bound for Northern Europe remain comparatively full until mid-August. We are still seeing several blank sailings caused by congestions in Asia and Europe.

The SCFI and other indexes have started to show a change in dynamics, with rates slowly declining from their peaks in July.

 Obstacles

Although space availability is back to normal, we may still experience delays and disruptions due to the weather conditions in Asia, as we are currently in the middle of typhoon season. The latest typhoon, which mainly affected central China, forced many vessels to omit the ports of Shanghai and Ningbo. This has led to rollovers and shipment delays. We expect heavy congestion at ports and further delays to inland deliveries for vessels arriving in Europe.

 Outlook

Overall, the downward trend is expected to continue, with rates falling toward the end of August. We may see an increase in demand in September ahead of Golden Week.

There have been no disruptions to services already routed via the Red Sea and Suez despite the latest Houthi threats, and some carriers are continuing their services with safety as their priority (Click for more info). Due to the unstable geopolitical situation, we may still see some fluctuations and increases in fuel surcharges, as the fuel market reacts very sensitively and adjusts quickly to any flare-up of tensions in the Middle East.

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