The 17-week continuous decline in freight rates has come to an end. Will the surge in member-day shipments aggravate port congestion?

Even so, international freight rates are still far from returning to pre-epidemic levels, and this situation will soon cease to exist. Last Friday, freight rates began to rise again .

It was observed that all major shipping indices rebounded in the latest period: the FBX global comprehensive average index rose by 3%, especially on the US West Coast route , the freight rate index rebounded sharply, up 9% , and the US East Coast, Europe and Mediterranean routes also rose slightly; the WCI major route indices remained stable; the domestic SCFI and NCFI indices also stopped falling and rebounded.

▲ The picture comes from Shanghai Shipping Trading Network

1. Shanghai is about to resume work, and a wave of retaliatory shipments is coming

On May 19, the Shanghai Municipal Government Information Office held the 188th press conference on the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic in Shanghai. Deputy Mayor Zhang Wei emphasized that with the continuous improvement of the epidemic prevention and control situation, the city's production and living order is recovering in an orderly manner. Starting from early June, according to the city's epidemic prevention and control situation, the resumption of work and production will be accelerated and the resumption of work of enterprises will be continuously expanded.

Due to the epidemic lockdown, more than 260,000 TEUs of export goods were not shipped from Shanghai in April , which is equivalent to 26 ships fully loaded with 10,000 TEUs. With the launch of Shanghai's unblocking policy, the recovery of shipping capacity and the third quarter being the traditional peak season for shipping will lead to a wave of rush to ship goods, resulting in a shortage of containers and rising freight rates.

2. Labor negotiations between the US and Spain are suspended, which may be a precursor to a strike

According to foreign media reports, negotiations between dockworkers and employers in the western United States seem to be going poorly. Recently, the ILWU, which represents the labor side, has requested for the first time to suspend negotiations until June 1. If approved, the suspension will start on Friday. The union did not respond to this move, and the specific reason is still unknown.

▲ Image from JOC.com

3. Amazon Prime Day is approaching, and cross-border sellers’ shipments will increase

Cross-border e-commerce, as the backbone of the foreign trade industry in the new era, accounts for a relatively high proportion of imports and exports. This year's Amazon Prime Day is less than two months away, which overlaps with the possible rush to buy mentioned above, and is likely to accelerate the increase in freight rates.

For foreign trade practitioners, transportation timeliness and cost are crucial factors affecting profits, and cross-border e-commerce sellers are no exception.

Faced with the new shipping situation, what should cross-border sellers do to avoid the risks brought by rising costs? Here are some suggestions:

1. Arrange booking in advance and ship goods reasonably

When ports are blocked and containers are piled up, it is normal to scramble for containers. In serious cases, it may even be difficult to find a container. Therefore, sellers need to make shipping plans and book shipping space in advance ; make sales forecasts to ensure that the warehouse is well stocked; and pay attention to changes in logistics at all times to adjust shipping plans in a timely manner.