Ocean carriers in the eastbound trans-Pacific say capacity reductions they have implemented on the trade are likely to continue at least for the next five months because US imports from Asia are expected to remain muted through the Lunar New Year in February.
For importers and forwarders, the blank sailings mean the resulting schedule disruptions and “rolling” of cargo they are already experiencing at Asian load ports will force them to book more of their cargo with carriers they can count on to maintain schedule integrity.
“Blanks are making scheduling in the trans-Pacific unreliable. That’s why Matson is doing so well,” Jack Chang, president of the non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVO) CubeShip Consolidation, told the Journal of Commerce.
Matson Navigation charges a premium for its two express services from China to Long Beach.
“We try to protect our highest-priority cargo,” said a home furnishings importer who did not want to be identified. “We use Matson specifically for that purpose.”
A Matson spokesperson told the Journal of Commerce the carrier has had “no blanking to this point and no plans to blank,” adding its bookings this month have been strong.
Carriers, however, are emphatic that they will cancel even more sailings in the coming months if rates continue to move lower in the largest US trade lane.
“If spot rates go too low, carriers will do what they’re going to do — blank sailings,” a second shipping executive told the Journal of Commerce.
The Journal of Commerce spoke to five carriers, three NVOs, a third-party logistics provider and an industry analyst for this story.
The Lunar New Year holiday, when factories in Asia normally close for a week or two, begins Feb. 10. That means the slack shipping season and softening of spot rates in the eastbound trans-Pacific will likely extend through the end of the year and into March — or well beyond, according to some industry analysts.
“We will not see better rates than we have now,” Michael Braun, vice president of customer success and solutions at rate analytics platform Xeneta, told the Journal of Commerce. “We won’t see volumes coming back in 2024.”
Details please refer to JOC news.
Source:
Mongelluzzo, B. (2023, September 26). Aggressive trans-pac blank sailings likely through Lunar New Year amid freight downturn: Sources. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/aggressive-trans-pac-blank-sailings-likely-through-lunar-new-year-amid-freight-downturn-sources_20230926.html