The World Container Index, prepared by the British consultancy Drewry, has stopped rising this week after 22 consecutive weeks of increases. It has remained stable at 10,377 dollars (8,836.90 euros) per 40-foot container, a figure that is 329% higher than the same week in 2020. The consulting firm has indicated that this meager truce in freight escalation “occurs following the announcement by CMA CGM and Hapag Lloyd to suspend spot freight increases, as container prices on most trade routes are at record levels”. Average container shipping rates are at $ 6,888 (€ 5,865), "about $ 4,492 (€ 3,825) more than the average for the last five years," Drewry stressed.
Sources from the forwarding company Lamaignere have stated that, although “it is true that freight levels seem to have stabilized in recent weeks, the reality is that they have continued to rise, but at a much lower rate than the previous one, so the rise in prices in the last fifteen days has been very small”. In this same sense, the director of Cotransa, Rolando Martínez, has expressed himself: freights "continue to rise, but more moderately." For his part, the Corporate Ocean Freight Manager of Arola Logistics & Customs, Ramón Aparicio, has pointed out that the situation “that we are experiencing in the freight market is the consequence of an artificial shortage generated by the shipping industry that drives freights in the spot market”.
Regarding future expectations of the evolution of freight rates, Drewry predicts "that rates will remain stable during the next week." However, operators and shippers are not optimistic about a possible stabilization and reduction of freight rates in the short term. In this sense, sources from Lamaignere have indicated that short-term expectations “are still not very hopeful, since three periods are approaching that have usually been accompanied by an increase in the price of freight, both during the previous weeks and especially the subsequent weeks. , due to the fact that the demand for containers and space grows during these events: Golden Week China, Christmas and the Chinese New Year ”. The director of Cotransa, Rolando Martínez, has stated that freight rates "tend to stabilize, but they will not drop in the short term."
For his part, Ramón Aparicio has indicated that from Arola "we believe that normalization in the maritime freight market will not come until the supply of services exceeds demand and the congestion suffered by the main ports worldwide is normalized". In this same sense, Lamaignere has expressed himself, who has pointed out that the situation “in the United States continues to be chaotic, with the port of Long Beach congested and with a shortage of land carriers, so think about a drop-in freight in the short term it seems unreal. " The Corporate Ocean Freight Manager of Arola Logistics & Customs has indicated that, in principle, "in 2023-2024 the rates should stabilize when the new container ships that are currently in the shipyards join their fleets".
SOURCE: EL MERCANTIL
https://elmercantil.com/2021/09/24/el-crecimiento-de-los-fletes-maritimos-se-estabiliza-tras-seis-meses-de-desenfreno/
Author: JUAN CARLOS PALAU
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