China shipping

China congestion and stubborn storage buoy tanker rates

crude tankers

Good news for tanker rates: Port congestion is on the rise, particularly in China. Floating storage is down from its peak, but there’s a very long way to go before all those cargoes are unloaded. And on the tanker supply side of the equation, surging congestion in China is offsetting declines in floating storage.

The longer the global tanker fleet suffers supply chain logjams and the longer storage cargoes remain on board, the fewer ships are available for spot deals. That’s a plus for spot...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/china-congestion-and-stubborn-storage-buoy-tanker-rates

Are trans-Pacific carriers guilty of price gouging?

container ship

Spot rates in the trans-Pacific ocean trade continue to reach epic new heights, leading to talk of price gouging.

“Container lines have done well during the global pandemic, but are they profiteering from the crisis?” asked U.K.-based consultancy Drewry.

“Perversely, lines look set to make more money than they have in a long time,” it continued. The practice of “blanking” (canceling) sailings “has paid off handsomely.”

“From a public-relations perspective, the optics of making big profits during a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/are-trans-pacific-carriers-guilty-of-price-gouging

Crew crisis to trigger ship detentions and diversions

ship crew

Around 200,000 seafarers still can’t get home due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Expired and extended crew contracts are piling up. Now, some port inspectors are beginning to balk and detain arriving vessels. 

“We are not just talking about a humanitarian crisis. This is turning into something that has a real impact on the global supply chain,” warned Belal Ahmed, chairman of the International Maritime Employers Council (IMEC), during a webinar presented by Capital Link on Wednesday.

More port...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/crew-crisis-to-trigger-ship-detentions-and-diversions

Fewer trans-Pacific cuts signal 3Q demand on the mend

container terminal

The green shoots keep coming.

Fewer trans-Pacific sailings will be “blanked” (canceled) in the third quarter — potentially many fewer — as U.S. importers recuperate from the first COVID-19 wave more quickly than expected.

Blank-sailing data has proved to be an accurate leading indicator of U.S. demand.

When ocean carriers do not get enough advance bookings to sufficiently utilize container slots, voyages are canceled. With blank sailings announced a month or more in advance, liner scheduling...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/fewer-trans-pacific-cuts-signal-3q-demand-on-the-mend

Commentary: Intra-Asia trade waving economic distress flag

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates. 

A recent “surge” in containers from China has created a plethora of bullish headlines signaling a possible turnaround. Well, don’t pop the champagne yet. The flow of trade within a critical supply chain trade route will tell you to put that bottle of bubbly back on ice.

A line of drayage tractors wait to be unloaded at portside.
(Photo credit: Jim...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/commentary:-intra-asia-trade-waving-economic-distress-flag

Long Beach rebounds as China container volumes surge

container port

Politically, the U.S. and China are barely on speaking terms. Trade-wise, they’re still very much in bed together.

Cargo from China is accounting for an even greater share of inbound container volumes than before the coronavirus crisis, according to new customs data.

China flows have pushed up trans-Pacific eastbound spot freight rates this month and helped blunt volume fallout along the U.S. West Coast. In fact, the Port of Long Beach disclosed on Tuesday that it had handled 312,590 loaded...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/long-beach-rebounds-as-china-container-volumes-surge

Remember the trade war? It’s back and at risk of escalating

President Trump

The U.S.-China Phase One trade deal is not dead, but it is on life support.

The two superpowers’ deteriorating relations in the wake of a Chinese security law covering Hong Kong has implications for container, tanker, dry bulk and gas shipping demand, as well as shipping stocks.

President Donald Trump alleged in a speech on Friday that China “ripped off the United States like no one has ever done before,” and “got away with theft” of hundreds of billions of dollars a year; that China “raided our...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/remember-the-trade-war-its-back-and-at-risk-of-heating-up

Container import roller coaster: down, up, down … up?

roller coaster

U.S. container imports are certainly on a wild ride.

The numbers plunged after the initial coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. They briefly bounced back when delayed bookings were loaded after China came back online. Then they sank again after social-distancing rules shut down U.S. businesses and container carriers “blanked” (canceled) sailings.

Now, it looks like there could be at least some momentum in the positive direction, which might mean that container lines that blanked around 20% of...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/container-import-roller-coaster-down-up-down-up

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