Shipping companies launch more bla €™nk routes to avoid fa✘×lling spot freight rates

The 2M alliance is prep♦¥♣aring to cancel three Asiδ©≠a-Nordic flights nex&↕t month as China's eδ→xport demand plummets, putting m∏≈>ore pressure on spot container ‍  prices. 2M Alliance partners MSC and Ma∞±ersk have already cancelled π↕©φthe Griffin/AE55 loop in the first ↕​ week of May and will ca≈∞©ncel two sailings on the key Shogun/AE1÷‍✔ route in the following w€±π↔eeks. MSC cancelled the first≥  voyage citing "ongoing←♦×≠ market conditions" and saidπ&★  it would resolve booking issues thr>ε↕ough "alternative σ​ services".

The reason for 2M and ÷ the other two alliances tδ₹o launch blank routes is beli<δβ✘eved to be to stem the slide in≠↔↔ rates as bookings from China₹×≤' have fallen due to the coronavirus£'↓€ lockdown and interline res ÷trictions. According to Loadstar, export bookings ₹↑for the next few wee±≤πks have already dropped by more ✘™than a third, as many factori∞§es, warehouses and warehouses in thγ∞♣•e Shanghai area remain closed ₩‌and collection and distribution rema↑∑÷in a challenge.

The Ningbo Container Freight In​‌>±dex (NCFI) Review report☆α÷±s that some Asia-Nor→∑dic carriers have started "cut₩∞ting prices" to increase book<"Ωings, but so far, the impac¥←™t on the spot rate indeΩ×x has been minimal, in line witσ​©¥h the start of the post-Chine↑ α®se New Year and peak sea↔ sons normal weakness before.&nbs•☆↕p;The Nordic reading of Xeneta'±↔s XSI fell 4% to $10,849/TEU, while£π≥± Drury's WCI and Baltic Ind↔Ωδex (FBX) fell about 2% to $10,>'364/TEU and $11,659/TEU, respectively.&ε¥δ™nbsp;Lars Jensen of Vespucci Maritime ≤λΩclaimed that under "baseline assu×™←σmptions" rates would co←₽σntinue to slide by about 5% before≥↕ starting to recover during t≠© §he peak season. Meanwhile, in the Trans-Pacific re✔✔gion, spot prices were stable thi‍ &s week, with readings in ∑→π the U.S. West Coast WCI and XSI seαγgments barely changing at $4,∞♦'379/TEU and $4,297/TE×♦U, respectively, and FBX (including p₽∞β©remium charges) at $ γ7,776/TEU .

The impact of the production disrupti₽₩on in China was reflected in tβ☆✘‍he number of import c₩≠ontainers arriving at the Port of•€π Los Angeles, which was down about 2®‌€0% this week compared  Ω≥εto a year earlier in ₽∞✔2021, according to its ¶×Signal data platform.&‌∞βnbsp;It also indicated that arrival">s to the West Coast hub next week π±☆↔will be about 16% lower year-over-y' ↔δear. However, the slump in impor ←t traffic has significantly reduced ve→≠$<ssel wait times, with Signal data rec≠•∞∑ording an average vessel wait tΩ§πime of 2.7 days at the Port of Los A‍"≈✘ngeles.

Still, CNBC senior edit★λ£≠or Lori Ann LaRocco cautioned that whe≤¶→n Shanghai fully reopen∑₹σs, the ensuing wave of containers will×≈ ₽ arrive on the U.S. West Coastπ←" weeks before the current labor☆∞ contract expires, at which ≈‌¥®point strike action is&​ likely if history rep₩♦eats itself. threat. She warned that the wave of conta±©iners would arrive on the W>₹est Coast in June or July, just in tim÷‍♥δe for the final weeks of the ←→ ILWU labor contract.