Source: Market average rates for 40‘ containers according to www.xeneta.com
Trade Analysis: Far East Westbound
Situation
We have seen an early rush for pre-Chinese New Year shipments this year, with demand peaking in late December/early January. We also saw a lot of extra capacity being added to this trade in January in preparation for the upcoming alliance changes in February 2025. In addition, some suppliers and factories closed earlier than expected as inventory levels in the EU were at an acceptable level, so companies only shipped what was absolutely necessary.
Obstacles
We expect some schedule reliability challenges due to empty sailings during and immediately after the Chinese New Year (CNY) and the upcoming reshuffling of shipping alliances.
Outlook/Solutions
We may not see long lulls right after CNY, but the first half of February will remain slow and we expect some improvement towards the end of this month. The situation in the Middle East/Red Sea may have improved, but so far it has not impacted vessel routings. In Q1, the routing around the Cape of Good Hope will continue.
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A talk with Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag Lloyd
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