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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New world order: Ocean rates up 88% as shippers pounce on lower tariffs
It took one week for the frenzy to set in on the eastbound trans-Pacific. Mid-high average spot rates paid by shippers in the 75th percentile of the market for transit from the Far East to the U.S. East Coast have surged by an astonishing 88% since May 3, according to analyst Xeneta, now standing at $6,100 per forty-foot equivalent unit. This price jump reflects the willingness of shippers to incur higher costs to ensure the movement of goods, driven by the temporary window created by the U.S.-China reciprocal tariff pause. In that time, the Far East to U.S. West Coast average price tracked at $5,082 from $2,615 per FEU. The North Europe to U.S. East Coast average spot rate increased to $2,129 from $2,081 the previous 90-day respite from higher duties has led liner operators such as Cosco, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd and HMM to amplify their spot rate charges, Xeneta said, pushing for hikes as steep as $3,000 per FEU. Meanwhile, mid-high spot rates have also climbed by 67% from the Far East to the U.S. East Coast, reaching $7,180 per FEU by early June, as a significant number of businesses attempt to expedite shipments amid volatile trade conditions. The Far East to U.S. West Coast price was $6,100 per TEU. However, the price dynamics are not limited to the trans-Pacific trade. The mid-high shipping rate on the Far East to North Europe route has also seen an upward trend, rising by 32% since the end of May and currently priced at $2,704 per FEU. This increase occurs despite the four-week rolling average capacity offered on this trade lane hitting 346,000 TEUs as of June 5, a level not witnessed even during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic shipping rush. 'The 88% increase in market mid-high spot rates on the trans-Pacific trade shows shippers are so concerned about getting goods moving again during the 90-day window of opportunity of lower tariffs that they are willing to pay more,' said Xeneta Chief Analyst Peter Sand, in a note. 'Right now, it seems carriers are telling shippers to jump, and some are replying, 'How high?''This spike in rates, according to Sand, is a temporary phenomenon. With capacity returning to the trans-Pacific route, the frantic rush of shipments is expected to subside. As supply chains gradually recover and inventories grow, the pricing pressures will diminish. Sand anticipates that spot rates will reach their peak in June before descending as capacity constraints ease. Additionally, the fluctuations in the trade have ripple effects on other routes, such as Far East to North Europe. Although indirectly affected by the U.S.-China tariff situation, this route feels the impact of global supply chain uncertainties. 'What happens in one region can quickly ripple across global supply chains,' Sand said. The looming threat of increased capacity pressure alongside geopolitical unpredictability is enough to push up spot rates even in these distant markets. Find more articles by Stuart Chirls week sees ocean container rates soarDirtier ports will hurt jobs, US maritime revival: AAPA Texas port completes $625M ship channel deepening project 'Fear and uncertainty' driving up China-US container rates The post New world order: Ocean rates up 88% as shippers pounce on lower tariffs appeared first on FreightWaves.
France 24
23-05-2025
- Business
- France 24
Merz, Xi discuss Ukraine war, trade woes amid global 'chaos'
Asia's economic giant and Europe's top economy have long-standing trade and business ties. This is despite political differences between Communist-ruled China and Germany that have deepened as Beijing has grown closer to Russia. On Friday, both leaders "underlined their readiness to work together as partners", according to Merz's office. The official Chinese readout of the call said Xi called for "stable and predictable ties" between Berlin and Beijing amid "the convergence of changes and chaos in the international situation". Both countries have faced challenges in handling mercurial US President Donald Trump as he pursues detente with Russia and imposes sweeping tariffs on foreign imports to the United States. On the topic of Ukraine, Merz's office said he told Xi about "the common efforts of Europe and the EU to bring about a quick ceasefire" and urged China to "support these efforts". Diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine conflict have increased in recent weeks. A week ago, Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul for their first face-to-face talks in more than three years. But the Kremlin said on Thursday that new peace talks with Ukraine had "yet to be agreed", disputing reports the two nations would soon hold negotiations at the Vatican. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Beijing has portrayed itself as a neutral party in the conflict. But the West has accused it of enabling Russia economically and diplomatically. - 'De-risking' In the phone call, Merz also touched on the vexed question of "fair competition" between German and Chinese businesses. China has long been a key market for Germany's crucial manufacturers, who sell huge quantities of goods in China, ranging from cars to factory equipment. But Berlin has been pursuing a policy of "de-risking" towards Beijing -- particularly since Russia's invasion of Ukraine stoked fears about maintaining close economic relations with authoritarian states. This de-risking is aimed at reducing heavy economic dependence on China by encouraging economic ties with other fast-growing parts of Asia, although Berlin has stressed it is not seeking a total "de-coupling". Chinese companies have also emerged as rivals to traditional German manufacturing titans, including in the auto sector. For his part, Xi urged Germany to clear the path for more investment and to provide "a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises". There have been several high-profile controversies over Chinese investment in sensitive sectors of the German economy. In November 2022, Germany blocked the sale of two semiconductor makers to Chinese investors, saying the acquisition could "endanger the order and security of Germany". In September 2023, Berlin blocked a complete Chinese takeover of a satellite startup on national security grounds. A bid by Chinese state-owned shipping giant Cosco to buy a stake in a Hamburg port also sparked a furious row. The sale was ultimately approved in 2023 but Cosco was allowed to buy a smaller stake than it had originally sought. burs-jsk-sr/fz/gil © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maersk looks to fill up container ships in a flash (sale)
Even as the United States and China called timeout on their tariff war, Maersk, the world's second-largest container line, wants shippers to get back in the game. The Denmark-based carrier ( is offering a flash sale with deep discounts on dozens of inland trade corridors in the United States and Canada through Maersk Spot, the Danish carrier's on-demand digital booking service aimed at small and medium-size shippers. The promotional pricing, announced in an email to customers early Wednesday, reflects the unsettled state of trans-Pacific shipping as the supply chain restarts following a chaotic tariff fight. The escalating tariffs that began with President Donald Trump's Liberation Day on April 2 led to a de facto trade embargo between the trading partners. The effects were immediate, as shipments from China to the U.S. plunged by 35% amid canceled factory orders, and scores of blanked or suspended voyages as container lines redeployed tonnage to other services. The tariffs also brought trade to a halt in the middle of contract negotiations between shippers and carriers. Trans-Pacific container rates to the U.S. have fallen some 30% from a year ago, and a number of carriers have announced general rate increases and other charges as a way to shore up prices on the trade. Those charges, announced prior to the tariff pause, range from a high of $3,000 per forty-foot equivalent unit by Cosco, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd and HMM, to $2,000 by CMA CGM, Yang Ming and Zim, to $1,000 by the alliance of Ocean Network Express (ONE). 'Carriers are in the habit of preemptively announcing GRIs,' shipping analyst Lars Jensen wrote in a LinkedIn post Tuesday. 'If market conditions are then strong, these might stick, otherwise they go unnoticed.' Export-import rates across Maersk's range of services include $455 for Los Angeles-Long Beach, $375 for Fort Worth, Texas, $430 for Chicago and $571 to Vancouver, Canada, among a long list of other lanes. Maersk did not immediately respond to questions about the promotion. Find more articles by Stuart Chirls and effect: Container rates await new demand Ocean lines welcome tariff pause, but is the supply chain ready? Less China means more business for Port of Virginia Maersk: US-China trade war will swing world container demand The post Maersk looks to fill up container ships in a flash (sale) appeared first on FreightWaves.
Reuters
12-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Ocean shipping firm welcomes China-US tariff reprieve
BERLIN/LOS ANGELES, May 12 (Reuters) - German container shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd ( opens new tab on Monday welcomed an agreement between the United States and China to temporarily slash reciprocal tariffs, saying it expected to be buoyed by a resulting increase in bookings from China to the U.S. The United States will cut extra tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports in April to 30% from 145% and Chinese duties on U.S. imports will fall to 10% from 125% for the next 90 days, the two sides said on Monday. Trade between the world's two largest economies plummeted in the midst of the trade standoff, prompting container shipping companies like MSC and Cosco ( opens new tab to suspend regular routes or cancel individual voyages. Others considered switching to smaller ships. The reprieve could spark a rush of shipments to the United States, which some Chinese factories were preparing for, and send off-contract spot rates higher. "We expect bookings from China to the U.S. to increase, which should help us... into peak season," the company said in an emailed statement. The ocean shipping peak season typically refers to the August to October period, when U.S. retailers stock up on goods for the winter holiday season dominated by Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hapag-Lloyd continued sailing during the downturn, albeit with plans to downsize ships - a move that could put the carrier at an advantage over rivals that culled sailings, should customers rush in goods during the 90-day reprieve. "Originally, we had planned to use smaller ships for transports from China to (the U.S. coasts) but may reverse that if demand is strong," Hapag-Lloyd said. Maersk ( opens new tab CEO Vincent Clerc said on Thursday that in two weeks the Danish firm had removed 20% of capacity on the China to United States route and transferred it to other routes. Maersk could switch that back as quickly if customers ask for it, Clerc said. Average transit time on the Transpacific trade is 22 days, so customers will take the 90-day window of opportunity to ship as many goods as possible into the United States, said Peter Sand, chief analyst at pricing platform Xeneta. "This will put upward pressure on freight rates."
Malay Mail
10-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Container shipping firms cull Asia-US service, Trump tariffs collapse trade
LOS ANGELES, May 10 — Major container shipping companies are suspending at least six scheduled weekly routes between China and the United States as President Donald Trump's punishing tariffs on the world's top exporting country collapse trade, maritime consultants said. The ships on those routes have the combined capacity to deliver 25,682 40-foot containers stuffed with toys, tennis shoes, car parts and things US manufacturers use to produce goods each week — or more than 1.3 million 40-foot containers a year, based on capacity data provided in customer advisories. The service cuts, coupled with cancellations of individual voyages, come as hulking container ship operators move to mitigate fallout from Trump's erratic trade policies. Policy makers, economists, and business owners have become increasingly hungry for information on ocean trade, responsible for 80 per cent of the world's commerce, because it is a gauge of global economic health. 'This is not the precursor, it is the proof of a drop in economic activity,' Simon Sundboell, CEO of Danish maritime data provider eeSea, said of the container vessel capacity reductions now underway. The route suspensions include scheduled weekly services operated by MSC, Zim and the Ocean Alliance that includes Cosco, Evergreen, CMA-CGM and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), Sundboell said. Four of the service cuts affect West Coast ports, one impacts the East Coast and one hits the Gulf Coast, he said. The container shipping companies culling those services either declined to comment or did not immediately respond. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd's Gemini Alliance have not suspended services — even though both partners experienced significant tariff-related China to US booking cuts in April and have swapped out some ships for smaller vessels. Representatives from the US and China are meeting this weekend in Switzerland after more than two months of stalemate over trade. Blankety blank Global shipping companies use service suspensions and cancellations of individual voyages, known as blank sailings, to shelter profits by ensuring they do not have more ships on the water than are needed by customers. That reduces unnecessary overhead costs and keeps supply and demand in balance, supporting competing off-contract spot rates. Blank sailings increased significantly after the Covid pandemic upended global trade in 2020 - and are part of why global container ship operators have been enjoying record profits. Major US retailers like and Walmart, which account for nearly half of global container trade, responded to Trump's 145 per cent tariffs on China last month by pausing or cancelling factory orders after those import duties more than doubled the cost of goods made in China. Cancelled, or blanked, individual voyages on the vital Transpacific route from Asia to North America surged from 9 per cent in week ended March 30 to 24 per cent in week ended May 4, maritime consultancy Drewry said in a podcast earlier this week. Drewry's data shows blank sailings reduced capacity on the Asia to West Coast North America routes by 20 per cent in April and 12 per cent so far in May. The cuts hit slightly harder on the North American East Coast, reducing 22 per cent in April and 18 per cent thus far in May, the consultancy said. MSC, the world's largest container ship operator, in April cancelled 30 per cent of its scheduled Transpacific voyages - more than any other container carrier, said Daniela Ghimp, project manager for ocean freight rate benchmarking at Drewry. The Premier Alliance, composed of Ocean Network Express (ONE), Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) and Yang Ming Marine Transportation, leads so far in May with a 20 per cent blank sailing rate, Ghimp said. ONE declined comment, while HMM and Yang Ming did not immediately respond. The full effect of Trump's tariffs will likely be delayed until July, when overall US container import volume could be down 25 per cent or more from the year earlier, said John McCown, senior fellow at the Centre for Maritime Strategy. 'Something's gotta give, and I believe either considerably more capacity will have to be culled, or spot rates will start to crash,' said Alan Murphy, CEO of supply chain adviser Sea-Intelligence. — Reuters
