Good morning, Clients & Partners.
Below please find our industry update & news.
As always, we will keep you posted on any impacts to your cargo on an individual shipment level.
We trust those celebrating Easter had a special time with family and friends over this past long weekend.
And those observing their Ramadan fasting, which continues until next Friday evening culminating in Eid al-Fitr festival, we wish you prosperity and joy. Eid is a public holiday in many countries for the four day weekend, including Turkey the UAE, Egypt, Indonesia and Pakistan.
AIR FREIGHT UPDATE
Inflation, lower consumption and high inventories continue to influence the market, although the volume decline slowed down and global air freight continued to normalise in March. Capacity outside Europe is slightly up compared to the same period last year, in part due to Covid-19 restrictions easing in China, with routes between the Middle East and South Asia / Asia-Pacific seeing significant increases of 13% eastbound and 5% westbound.
There was a mix of stable and declining rates in March compared to February, while rates were slightly reduced in some origin countries due to lower pressure on the supply chain. China saw stable or even rising rates in March despite rising capacity, partly due to increased demand.
Jet fuel prices continue to be uncharacteristically off sync with crude oil trends. Among others, reasons are ongoing embargoes on Russian imports as a result of the Ukraine conflict and rising demand for jet fuel in China. The price development therefore remains volatile, at the current average price of $2.8 per gallon, according to IATA.
Meanwhile, strikes in several European countries continue to have an impact on the market. In France, strikes by the French air traffic controllers’ union led to numerous cancellations and delays, while strike action in Germany led to flight cancellations at Frankfurt and Munich, also had an impact on air freight. [1]
GENERAL UPDATE
- Space is open ex Asia and Middle East.
- Rates have softened into April on these trades.
- Delays ex US and EU are improving however the challenge on the pre-carriage continues due to a lack of truckers / drivers in the US and EU. Forecasts and pre-bookings are essential.
- Globally, transshipment port congestion has eased. Main ports we are experiencing container transshipment delays from Singapore (1 – 2 weeks) and Las Palmas (no delays at current).
- With the current wind delays at the South African ports carriers have advised to add an additional 15 – 20 days onto the advertised port to port transit times as a buffer for any delays. Cape Town being the port with the most delays, some cargo may be routed via Coega.
- Delays in hazardous commodity acceptance remains a challenge on all trades.
SOUTH AFRICA
DURBAN
Wind delays are impacting on terminals operations.
Vessel berthing delays:
- Pier 1 : 0- 1 day
- Pier 2 : 0-1 day
- Durban Point : 3 days
CAPE TOWN
Berthing delays continue to be experienced at both terminals in Cape Town, however this has improved from delays seen in previous weeks. The port has reported strong winds during the week. High volumes of cargo and traffic at Cape Town terminals.
- CTCT : 9 days
- MPT : 4 days
PORT ELIZABETH
Berthing delays for both ports remain similar to previous weeks. The port has reported strong winds during the week.
- PECT – 0-2 days
- NCT – 0-1 day
NORTH AMERICA
USA
Terminals Updates:
NY/NJ – Vessel waiting time is up to 1 day. Import Dwell time at APM terminal is 1 day. Norfolk – Vessel waiting time is up to 1 day. Two cranes down at Norfolk Int’l Terminal, however, no operational impact expected.
Savannah – Vessel waiting time 1 day.
Charleston – Vessel waiting time up to 2 days.
Miami/Port Everglades – Vessel waiting time 2 days.
Houston – Vessel waiting time 2 days.
Los Angeles/ Long Beach – Vessel waiting time up to 4 days.
Seattle – Vessel waiting time 2 days.
Oakland – Vessel waiting time 3 days
Rail Updates:
- Rail ramp is currently experiencing congestion in Chicago, Columbus, and Los Angeles. There are delays in picking-up and delivering containers at these locations.
CANADA
Montreal
- Vessels are arriving on proforma schedule. Once alongside, productivity is high, and vessel changes are not expected. There are no issues with labour availability, and there is good productivity in the yard.
Vancouver
- No berth congestion and ships are working immediately once alongside. Yard utilization at GCT has decreased and is presently at 85%. It is expected that this will remain steady over the next 7 days. Rail productivity remains below expectations due to reduced car supply by both rail providers. Dwell times have improved to 8.1 days and it is expected that this will remain stable for the coming weeks.
EUROPE & UNITED KINGDOM
- High cargo demand out of Europe, limited hauliers / truckers, port congestion and vessel delays continue to impact loadings. Amendments to port rotations and increasing port omissions.
BELGIUM
- Berthing delay of 2 days experienced at Antwerp port. All ANR terminals still have export delivery restrictions in place. Export cargo delivery gates will be opened only 7 days prior vessel ETA.
GERMANY
- Berthing delay of 2 days experienced at Hamburg port and 1 day at Bremerhaven port.
UNITED KINGDOM
- Berthing delay of 3 days experienced at London Gateway port. All vessels berthing on arrival or with minimum delays due to late arrivals from previous ports of rotation
NETHERLANDS
- Berthing delay of 2-3 days experienced at Rotterdam port.
FRANCE
- The strikes have a impacted services. NB – Hazardous Restrictions on SAECS
MEDITERRANEAN
SPAIN
- Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Barcelona port.
ITALY
- Berthing delay of 2 day experienced at Genova port.There are currently no delays for containers transshipping in Las Palmas (MSC Service).
INDIAN SUBCONTINENT AND MIDDLE EAST
INDIA
- Space ex India has opened up, pre booking is still essential to secure the most competitive rateand space. Services into Cape Town ex India are still limited with most cargo being routed via Durban.
ASIA PACIFIC
- Space is open ex Asia, with rates further softening into April 2023.
- Possible delays anticipated out of major transhipment ports Singapore 1 – 2 weeks.
NEWS ARTICLES
China’s exports rise unexpectedly, but economists warn of weakness ahead.
China’s exports unexpectedly surged in March, with officials flagging rising demand for electric vehicles, but analysts cautioned the improvement partly reflects suppliers catching up with unfulfilled orders after last year’s COVID-19 disruptions.
Exports in March shot up 14.8% from a year ago, snapping five straight months of declines and stunning economists who predicted a 7.0% fall in a Reuters poll.
But analysts say the jump was more likely related to exporters rushing to fulfil a backlog of orders that had been disrupted by the pandemic in past months, and warned the global demand outlook remained subdued.
“The wave of COVID outbreaks in December and January likely depleted factories’ inventories. Now that factories are running at full capacity, they caught up the cumulated orders from the past,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.”
Meanwhile, imports fell less than expected, with economists pointing to an acceleration in the purchase of agricultural products, especially soybeans, as providing some support.
Imports dropped just 1.4%, smaller than the 5.0% decline forecast and a 10.2% contraction in the previous two months. Increases in crude oil, iron ore and soybeans imports in the month were offset by a decline in copper imports.
“The external environment is still severe and complicated at present,” Lv told reporters in Beijing on Thursday. “Sluggish external demand and geopolitical factors will bring greater challenges to China’s trade development,” he added.
“We expect most developed economies to slip into recession this year and think that the downturn in Chinese exports still has some way to run before it reaches a bottom later this year.” [2]
References and sources:
[1] https://www.maersk.com/news/articles/2023/04/12/europe-market-update-april
[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-exports-post-surprise-surge-march-2023-04-
Kind regards,
JJ & The Inter-Sped Team
