"Everything is going up, except my orders."
At the beginning of August, shipping costs on the Europe-US route continued to rise. Shipping costs on the European and American lines have risen again It is learned that according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, China's export container transportation market has shown signs of improvement, driving up freight rates on ocean routes, led by Europe and the United States. The freight rate from Shanghai to the West Coast of the US is US$1,943/FEU, up US$179, or 10.15% ; the freight rate from Shanghai to the East Coast of the US is US$2,853/FEU, up US$177, or 6.61% . - European Mediterranean route
The freight rate from Shanghai to Europe is US$975/TEU, up US$233, or 31.40% ; the freight rate from Shanghai to the Mediterranean is US$1,503/TEU, up US$96, or 6.61% . At the same time, it is learned that recently, many shipping companies such as Maersk, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd have successively raised FAK freight rates and charges on some routes. (1) From July 31, 2023, FAK rates from major Asian ports to Mediterranean ports will increase to US$1,850-2,750 for 20-foot containers (DC) and US$2,300-3,600 for 40-foot containers and 40-foot high containers (DC/HC). (2) FAK freight rates from major Asian ports to the three Northern European hub ports of Rotterdam, Felixstowe and Gdansk will be raised to US$1,025 per 20 feet and US$1,900 per 40 feet on July 31. Increase in all freight (FAK) rates from all Asian ports (including Japan, Southeast Asia and Bangladesh) to all Northern European ports (including the UK and all the way from Portugal to Finland/Estonia). It is understood that the new FAK rates will be US$1,150 per TEU and US$2,100 per FEU , will take effect on August 15, 2023, and will apply to dry cargo, overgauge, refrigerated and empty containers. In the logistics exchange group, some sellers have said that their freight forwarders have begun to increase prices, and the general ship price has generally increased by 0.5 yuan/kg. At the same time, many freight forwarders also said that the general price increase may be a new trend. Debt of 1.3 billion US dollars! Another American giant declared bankruptcy First there was the rise in shipping prices, then there was the continuous wave of strikes. This year's wave of strikes is getting stronger and stronger. Among them, the most notable is the tug-of-war between UPS and the Teamsters Union. If the negotiations between the two fail and a strike occurs, it may disrupt logistics across the United States and become the largest strike in the United States in 60 years, with an estimated economic loss of billions of dollars. On July 25, UPS and the Teamsters reached a five-year tentative agreement. The union received higher pay and some key concessions from UPS that benefit its members. These included eliminating lower-paid drivers, air conditioning in new vehicles, and additional paid vacations. The five-year agreement, which the Teamsters estimated would provide $30 billion in new funding over five years , also averted a major strike. One seller joked, "If the settlement is reached by raising the employees' wages, where will the wages come from? It must come from the price hikes ." Another seller said, "The strike is caused by price hikes, so relatively speaking, Kapai at the end is less troublesome." But in fact, Kapai, which is highly anticipated, has not been very troublesome recently. It is learned that on July 31, according to foreign media reports, the 99-year-old American truck transportation company Yellow announced its bankruptcy, which will result in the unemployment of more than 30,000 employees. Yellow owns more than 12,000 trucks, transporting goods across the United States for e-commerce giants such as Amazon and Walmart. It is a well-known giant in the U.S. trucking industry. However, in recent years, Yellow's restructuring plan has been repeatedly blocked, the long-term confrontation with the Teamsters Association, the huge debt of 1.3 billion, and the sharp decline in demand in the freight industry have made it difficult for this giant company to maintain normal operations. It is reported that Yellow's closure is the largest loss of revenue in the history of the US trucking industry. "When a whale falls, everything comes to life." The once glorious Yellow has collapsed. Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL), FedEx Corp., Forward Air Corp. and Knight-Swift Transport Holdings, which are competitors in the LET field, will directly benefit and eat into the market left by Yellow's collapse. It is understood that most of Yellow's cargo is currently in the hands of these LET carriers. In addition, there are also some logistics companies waiting to absorb Yellow's freight business, such as Saia Inc., XPO Logistics, ArcBest Corp. and TFI International. According to professionals, these companies will receive a total of Yellow's estimated annual revenue of US$5 billion and 49,000 shipments per day . Moreover, from another perspective, in the trucking industry, Yellow offers the cheapest prices in the United States. After the closure of Yellow, its freight business was divided up by other logistics companies, and its delivery prices could hardly maintain the previous lowest prices, which would greatly hit sellers who rely on truck delivery . For the entire freight industry, price increases may be a major trend in the future. The prices from sea freight to final delivery have shown an upward trend. For sellers, this means a further increase in logistics costs.
|
