New Year's Day price rise tide attack! As factories rush to catch up on deliveries for the New Year, and the threat of a strike at the US East terminal has not yet been lifted, container sea freight continues to grow. MSC Mediterranean Shipping, COSCO Shipping, Yangming and other shipping companies have announced that they will raise freight rates on January 1 next year.

1.the US freight rate has risen sharply

According to freight forwarding industry sources, MSC raised the freight rate per 40 feet container on the US-West route to $6,150, and the US-East route to $7,150; The freight rate for each 40-foot container on the COSCO Shipping line rose to $6,100 and $7,100 for the East line. At the same time, Yangming and other shipping companies have also reported to the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) that they plan to increase the comprehensive rate surcharge (GRI) on January 1, and the increase is about $2,000 per 40 feet in the West and East of the United States.

2.Freight rate trend of European routes

In addition, the loading rate of ships on the European route remains high, and this week, many shipping companies once again introduced an increase in the purchase fee of about $200. Freight forwarders said that although a number of shipping companies said they planned to raise prices from January 1, they did not rush to make a public statement. This is because from February next year, the three major shipping alliances will be restructured, and market competition will intensify. Shipping companies have begun to actively grab cargo and grab customers to cope with possible market changes.

3.Market competition intensifies

Under the continuous attraction of high freight rates, more and more overtime ships are put into operation, fierce market competition, easy to loosen freight rates, the current European line per 40 feet container freight is still about 5000 ~ 5300 US dollars, there are shipping companies to provide preferential prices of about 4600 ~ 4800 US dollars.

4.charge peak season surcharge

HMM has also previously announced that it will impose peak season surcharges on all departures to the United States, Canada and Mexico. Starting January 2, 2025, a peak season surcharge of up to $2,500 will apply to all departures to the United States, Canada and Mexico.

MSC and CMA also announced a new Panama Canal surcharge on the Asia-U.S. East Coast route effective January 1, 2025, in response to the Canal Authority's implementation of a new reservation system to "optimize transit operations."

5.December in the United States freight rate trend

Reflecting the second half of December, the US line freight rate has risen sharply, from more than 2,000 US dollars to more than 4,000 US dollars, an increase of about 2,000 US dollars. In contrast, European freight rates remained flat or fell slightly. It is understood that MSC, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and other three major European shipping companies are preparing for the battle for market share after the alliance restructuring next year.

In addition, according to the latest data released by the Shanghai HNA Exchange on December 13, the Shanghai export container Freight Index (SCFI) has risen for three consecutive weeks. The SCFI index rose 127.94 points to 2,384.40 last week, a weekly gain of 5.67%. Among them, the United States freight rate increased significantly, the United States West line increased by more than 21%, and the United States East line increased by more than 11%.

The final price increase and whether it can be successful depends on the market supply and demand relationship. At the same time, if there is a strike at the East Coast terminals in the United States, it is bound to have an impact on freight rates after the holiday. In addition, a number of shipping companies plan to increase capacity in early January to take advantage of high rates, such as the deployment of capacity on Asia to Northern Europe routes will increase by 11%. However, with the intensification of alliance restructuring and fierce market competition, it is feared that it will bring pressure on freight rate war.

In this reminder, please refer to the corresponding shipping company for details of the levy. The freight forwarder friends who want to ship in the near future, please pay close attention to the market dynamics and tell each other. The freight rate is changeable, and the shipment plan is prepared early, so as not to affect the shipment!