International Maritime most mid-sized importers should be able to get the vessel space , expressed as minimum quantity commitments ( MQCs ), they will need for the upcoming contract year .

“ Carriers have capacity readily available for May ,” he said . “ This should play in favor of the importers and NVOs .”

The Pacific Northwest Asia Shippers Association , which represents importers of wood products and building materials , is concluding its 2024 – 25 service contracts in the $ 1,600-per-FEU range to the West Coast , said Hayden Swofford , independent administrator of PNASA .

“ I found the carriers to be easy to work with ; they came in for me with realistic numbers ,” Swofford said .

A home furnishings retailer that imports less than 30,000 TEUs a year who spoke anonymously said the quotes he received in the first round of negotiations with 13 carriers were over $ 1,900 per FEU to the West Coast , but he expects at least some of the carriers to come back with lower rates in the second round . Rates to the East Coast in the first round were about $ 800 to $ 900 per FEU higher , he said .

Wait and see

While a number of importers are ready to sign contracts by the end of April , some intend to hold out as long as they can to see if the uncertainties in the Red Sea and Panama Canal regions will ease and the predictions of overcapacity play out .

“ There ’ s a fair amount of people out there who feel the Suez / Panama issues won ’ t have a long tail ,” said a third carrier executive .

Now that the floor has been set for service contract rates , carriers can be expected to move swiftly to get commitments from mid-size and smaller importers to lock in

“ There ’ s some strength in this market .”

about 70 % of their space in the coming year with contracted cargo , said Kurt McElroy , executive vice president of NVO Kerry Apex .

“ This will force some carriers to get more aggressive ,” he said .

Although it varies from carrier to carrier , most shipping lines reserve about 30 % of their space for non-contract cargo at the spot rate , booked either directly with the carrier or through NVOs ’ freight-all-kind rates . If spot rates later in the year should drop below contract rates because of overcapacity , importers will save money , but if import volumes strengthen and spot rates remain high , customers will pay more .

Carriers normally sign contracts with NVOs after most of the mid-size importers have signed their contracts , but several NVOs said they expect NVO “ named account ” rates — in which the customers are listed — will fall in the range of $ 1,600 to $ 1,700 per FEU .

email : bill . mongelluzzo @ spglobal . com

USACE expects to restore full access to Baltimore ( pictured ) by the end of May . Kelly L / Pexels

Baltimore port closure puts brakes on positive momentum

By Michael Angell

The Port of Baltimore had been on a roll before the collapse of a major bridge spanning the port ’ s primary channel took it offline for at least two months .

Prior to the sudden closure of the port after a container ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge early in the morning on March 26 , Baltimore was handling growing volumes and new services , as well as planning for the construction of a $ 1 billion new container terminal that will triple its capacity .

While nearly every other major US port was suffering double-digit percentage declines in container imports last year , Baltimore was cranking out double-digit gains . Imports from Asia through Baltimore jumped 13.8 % year over year in 2023 , a stark contrast to the 13.3 % decrease for the country as a whole , according to PIERS , a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S & P Global . That growth continued into early 2024 , with shipments from Asia rising another 5.1 % in January and February .

The fifth-busiest container port on the US East Coast and busiest in the US for roll-on / roll-off ( ro / ro ) cargo such as automobiles and heavy equipment , Baltimore is a port of call on four trans-Pacific services , three trans-Atlantic strings and nine loops connecting with Latin America , India , the Middle East and Africa .

Those services include ZIM Integrated Shipping ’ s eCommerce Baltimore Express ( ZXB ), an expedited service from Southeast Asia to the US East Coast that was introduced in March 2022 and expanded last year thanks www . joc . com April 22 , 2024 | Journal of Commerce 17