Freight Market Update: December 2022

Ocean rates on Asia – US West Coast lanes dip below 2019 levels

Monthly highlights:

  • US ocean import volumes have dropped to a level 12% lower than a year ago.
  • This lowered demand and easing congestion continue to lower shipping container rates.
  • The ocean carriers will schedule more blank sailings in Q1 2023, with the majority of them taking place one to two weeks before the Lunar New Year. The goal is to reduce excess capacity while also improving schedule dependability by reducing port/terminal congestion.

Asia-US and Europe rates for this month:

  • Asia-US West Coast 40GP container prices fell 26% to around $1,500. This rate is 90% lower than the same time month year
  • Asia-US East Coast 40GP container prices decreased 19% to $3,750, and are 78% lower than rates for this month last year
  • Asia-N. Europe prices fell 2% to $3,974/FEU, and are 73% lower than rates for this week last year

North American Vessel Dwell Times:

Air Freight Market Update

Asia

  • N. China: Market demand for TPEB is increasing, and this trend is projected to continue through the Christmas vacation. Rates have also risen from the previous week. Demand and pricing for Far East Westbound (FEWB) remain constant.
  • S. China: The market is heating up, and the room is becoming scarce. Bookings should be made as soon as possible to ensure a faster uplift. In response to growing demand, both the TPEB and FEWB rate levels have increased. Some freighter capacity has been canceled due to heavy snowstorms in Alaska. The Chinese government has announced a relaxation of COVID regulations, so cross-border traffic should restart gradually.

Europe

  • As expected in the run-up to the holidays, demand from Europe into major North American airports has increased marginally.
  • Due to increased demand for shorter travel times and arrivals before the Christmas break, capacity into major hubs is tighter.
  • Staff shortages, strikes, and bad weather conditions are predicted to cause terminal congestion and delays at Amsterdam (AMS), Frankfurt (FRA), and London Heathrow (LHR).

Freight Market and Amazon News

Three major central banks (the Fed, the ECB, and the Bank of England) raised policy rates by 50 basis points this week as they rushed to catch up with strong inflation. overt coordination. So, what does this all mean? It shows that inflation is a problem on both sides of the Atlantic, even though the causes are different, and the de facto coordination should make some of the recent changes in exchange rates less severe. High rates are unavoidable, but experts anticipate that they will begin to fall by the end of 2023.

A first in Amazon UK, hundreds of workers at a facility in Coventry, England, have voted to strike over the e-commerce giant’s 50 pence an hour pay offer, the General, Municipal, Boilermakers, and Allied Trade (GMB) union said on December 16th.

Please keep in mind that the information in our publications has been assembled from a number of sources and is based on the information we had at the time. This content is provided to our community and partners for informational purposes only, and we don’t expect them to rely on it or hold us accountable if they do.