Source: Market average rates for 40‘ containers according to www.xeneta.com
Trade Analysis: Far East Westbound
Situation
The recovery from the Golden Week holidays in the first week of October was smooth and swift. Due to several blank sailings on this trade lane and some ongoing schedule reliability issues, volumes have picked up and the rate declines of the past several weeks have stopped. This was also evident in the latest SCFI update on October 25, which showed the first rate increase after 14 consecutive weeks of declines. Some shipments have been postponed and rescheduled for after the Golden Week holidays, while some bookings are beginning to reflect pre-Chinese New Year orders (end of January 2025).
Obstacles
Schedule reliability has not yet improved, space is getting tight, and some spots in Asia are reporting a shortage of certain types of equipment.
Outlook/Solutions
Good volume forecasts for the upcoming weeks will push rates higher, and we will once again experience space and equipment issues that may last the entire month of November and into December.