Rate Situation: Asia to Europe

As previously announced, space availability is currently at a premium with carriers reducing the number of vessels in service to ensure that those remaining move to capacity and consequently enable them to increase freight prices.

Rates have continued to rise every couple of weeks since November, either through increases to the basic freight, or through the implementation of various surcharges (there are close to 20 different surcharges currently being implemented by carriers). The indications are that rates will not drop after the Chinese New Year period, which is historically what happens as demand falls. Indeed if volumes do drop, carriers have intimated that they will pull further tonnage from the market in order to maintain the pressure on space and rates.

This means that even shippers who had agreed fixed rates with carriers are paying higher rates to avoid their containers waiting several weeks to be shipped