This Europe-China route has faced low historical levels for more than a year. However, we are still observing additional pressure on rates for this corridor with an average value observed of $961 on Rotterdam - Ningbo (40HC) lane on Upply.
Some Dry GIFO rates have even reached the $500.00 USD price tag for a 40HC for direct port to port connections on this Europe-China corridor.
To explain this low-price trend, we identified some key factors:
- Low volume available
- New sourcing alternatives for consumer goods (milk powder, beer…)
- Exports of papers and scraps to be recycled have been lower
In this context, Mega Carriers are still in a better half full than empty approach. An opportunity for carriers could occur thanks to the current Asian blank onboarding dynamic, due to Chinese New Year. As less vessels are currently sailing to Europe, the capacity available in the return trip Europe-Asia will be mechanically reduced in the coming weeks. This could put pressure on demand to onboard shipments and make rates go up on this route in the near future.
To discover the latest trends on ocean freight rates, go to the benchmark page of upply.com!
See you next week,
Captain Upply
Photo Credit : dreamstime
