Weekly Market Update - February 16, 2021

Ocean Freight Market Update

Asia → North America (Transpacific Eastbound)

Rates: Rates have continued to be stable for the past 6 weeks. There is a new GRI announced by HAPAG from East Asia to USA of USD960/20’ and USD1200/40’, as well as Indian Subcontinent to USA of USD480/20’ and USD600/40’ both from March.

Capacity: As mentioned last week, there will be fewer blank sailings happening this year. As of 3rd February it was reported an estimate of 8.4% compared to last year 26.2% according to eeSea.

Equipment: The situation continues to be severe as last week.

Ports: Small indications of improvement have been observed in Los Angeles, but terminal operators only expect a return to some normality between April and June.

Asia → Europe (Far East Westbound) 

Rates: Rates are stable or have shown a slight decrease as reported by most indexes.  

Capacity: Similar to other trades, the blank sailings around Chinese New Year will have a much smaller impact on capacity this year with an estimated percentage of blank sailings of 10.5% for February 2021 versus 32.9% for February 2020 according to eeSea.

Equipment: Is still reported to be a problem with UK ports, such as Felixstowe having a restriction on port moves.

European Road Freight Market Update

Delays:

• Bad weather across northern Europe continues, causing trailer delays.
• There are delays with loads moving in and out of Germany as they have partially closed their border with the Czech Republic and Austria amid concerns over new coronavirus variants.

Trailer Availability

•  Groupage continues to have extended lead times across Europe at the moment. Most groupage providers still have a backlog of loads to clear through, and customs clearance with these providers is taking longer than expected. Those who want a groupage service should expect the shipment to take a minimum of a week and potentially 2 weeks to be completed.

Customs Procedures:

• In general, there is a backlog in the Netherlands, with trucks being held for a day while goods get cleared. 
• There is potentially a bug in the customs system which is causing delays. This is an unforeseen risk that may be challenging to manage. 

Rates: 

• Rates out of Romania are increasing, especially to the UK as availability is low for Groupage and FTL.
• There is an increase in groupage rates coming out of Portugal and Spain. 
• Some groupage providers were going to provide set rates come February, but many are rejecting committing to set rates until the market becomes more stable.

The information that is available in the Weekly Market Update comes from a variety of online sources. Click below to learn more about how Zencargo can help make your supply chain your competitive advantage.

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