This year, air and sea freight rates have skyrocketed, containers are in short supply, and cabin space is hard to find. Congestion in European and American ports has become the norm. Containers are piled up in these ports and cannot be returned to China in time. Coupled with the fact that the number of sellers who made recent shipments has risen, it is difficult for Chinese shippers to book cabin space. Industry insiders said that not only is it difficult to book cabin space, the shortage of containers is also severe.
The uncertainty of the global economic recovery keeps the shipping market hesitant. To be cautious, before the prospects are clear, major shipping companies choose to make profits through substantial price increases instead of increasing the shipping capacity. Chinese and foreign shipping companies have suspended their routes, reduced the frequency of container services, and dismantled a large number of idle container ships.
Due to the pessimistic outlooks of the US policies, many American clients urge Chinese shippers to speed up production and make shipments as fast as they can. This nervous behavior of advancing future shipments has also made the lack of containers more notable. With the lack of containers and the worries for future trade, the freight rates of China-US routes have repeatedly hit new highs. It can be seen that international freight rates won’t stop rising in the short term, and the high freight rates may persist.
Source: Foreign Shipping