| Editors' picks | MARITIME | 12.04.2020 |
Nikos Roussanoglou | HellenicShippingNews.com | December 4, 2020
Nick Savvides Managing Editor | Container-News.com | December 4, 2020
PortStrategy.com | December 2, 2020
Mike Wackett | TheLoadstar.com | December 4, 2020
Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor | Journal of Commerce | December 4, 2020
Excerpts:
A disruptive and painful 2020 is edging closer to its end and many parts of the shipping industry is already looking forward to a post-pandemic 2021 and what it has in store. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “being just a breath before the close of the year, it is hardly a surprise that many are already eyeing the prospects of what lay ahead for the coming year, hoping that we will enter into more stable and “normal” territories.
According to Allied’s Research Analyst, Mr. Thomas Chasapis, “it has been made clear by now that the crude oil tanker freight market lacks the luxury to anticipate any significant change in pace any time soon. We mentioned in earlier reports, that tanker freight earnings have been stuck in a bearish mood since the onset of the summer period, a situation that has left many interested parties with mixed feelings. Moreover, we also pointed that this isn’t obvious when analyzing things on y-o-y basis. The year-to-date average for TCE metric in the bigger size segment is roughly 69% higher than that of the year prior, as well as, in the region of 8-fold higher than those back in 2018”.
Nikos Roussanoglou | HellenicShippingNews.com | December 4, 2020
As shipping lines have seen their fortunes made after a period of severe decline in volumes during the pandemic, ports and terminals have not fared so well in Europe’s key region, of the Hamburg – Le Havre range where volumes have declined by more than a third in some cases.
Vessel operators have the option of moving their assets around to the regions and trades exhibiting the greatest level of demand. Terminal operators have no such advantage, with huge investments in fixed assets to provide the interlinking infrastructure between ocean and landside movements within the supply chain.
As a result of the pandemic, North European ports have suffered a substantial decrease in cargo volumes, handling 31.3 million TEU over the first nine months of the year, a 6% fall on the previous year’s volumes.
Nick Savvides Managing Editor | Container-News.com | December 4, 2020
After months of falling throughput volumes, a number of ports across the world are now seeing congestion. AJ Keyes asks if this is due to the rebound from COVID-19 or if other factors are in play?
There is no doubt that 2020 will be a year that most container ports will want to forget. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact volumes on a global basis with the fall-out from weak trade demand, spikes in demand and country lockdowns causing ongoing uncertainty.
Yet while the impact of COVID-19 is causing weaker port handling throughput, there are also now a growing number of ports experiencing congestion. So, what is causing the congestion, is it uniform across the world and what other factors are in play?
PortStrategy.com | December 2, 2020
Container spot rates from Asia to North Europe are now 130% higher than at the start of the year, after a further spike this week.
Today’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) recorded a 13.5% increase in its North Europe spot rate, to $2,374 per teu – however, in practice, market rates are considerably higher.
The SCFI Asia-Mediterranean component increased by $165, to $2,384 per teu.
One Shanghai-based NVOCC told The Loadstar several carriers were now quoting more than $6,000 per 40ft for Rotterdam, and “more than $8,000” per 40ft for the UK.
And a forwarding contact in China said carriers on the route were now purely focused on maximising their freight earnings at the expense of all other agreements.
“Carriers will give priority only to higher rate space – who pays more gets the space,” he said.
Mike Wackett | TheLoadstar.com | December 4, 2020
Container supply chains in the UK are facing delays and extra costs as sustained and heavy import demand leads to growing bottlenecks at gateway ports, congestion surcharges, carriers canceling shipper contracts, and ships being diverted elsewhere in Europe.
Shippers are being forced on to the explosive spot market, which on Asia-North Europe routes this week soared to its highest level since 2010.
The China-North Europe spot rate rose 13.5 percent over last week, adding $283 to reach $2,374 per TEU, according to the latest reading of the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) Friday, as displayed on the JOC Shipping and Logistics Pricing Hub. Since the beginning of November, the rate has increased by an incredible $1,234 per TEU and is up almost 200 percent year over year. China-Mediterranean rates increased 7.4 percent to $2,384 per TEU, a 210 percent increase compared with the same week last year.
Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor | Journal of Commerce | December 4, 2020