Top Trans-Pacific Carriers and Ports

Special Report

“ There is no room from Asia ,” the executive said . “ This is not even a matter of money . There is no room .”

He is advising customers who are desperate for space in the coming weeks to go to the secondary market of NVOs , both large and small . That may require cobbling together a few slots each from a dozen or more NVOs , though managing so many vendors can be quite difficult , he acknowledged .

Capacity in the Asia-US trades is exceptionally tight right now due to a confluence of factors , the main one being the ongoing vessel diversions around southern Africa to avoid Houthi militant attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden , which is forcing carriers to avoid the Suez Canal . The much longer route is adding more than 10 days to voyages from Asia to Europe and the US and is absorbing a significant amount of capacity .

Also , congestion in Asian ports is adding time to many services from Asia to Europe and the US and resulting in blanked sailings as vessel schedules are disrupted . Carriers are moving more vessels into the Asia-Europe trades , where freight rates are higher than in the trans-Pacific .

Spot rates soaring

Trans-Pacific carriers have been quite successful in implementing several general rate increases ( GRIs ), which are levied on spot rates , and in the case of NVOs , on freight all-kinds ( FAK ) shipments . As with PSSs , carriers must file their GRIs with the FMC 30 days in advance , though there is no certainty the full amount , or any of it , will actually be implemented . If the market is strong , carriers may get the entire amount . If not , they will implement a lower amount , or none at all if the market weakens considerably from the time the GRI was filed .

“ This is not even a matter of money . There is no room .”

The spot rate from Asia to the US West Coast was $ 7,000 per FEU on June 14 , up from $ 6,200 on June 7 , $ 5,000 on May 17 and $ 4,000 on May 3 , according to Platts , a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S & P Global .

The Asia – East Coast spot rate was $ 8,080 per FEU on June 14 up from $ 7,300 on June 7 , $ 6,110 on May 17 and $ 4,800 on May 3 .

Multiple carriers announced new GRIs taking effect June 15 . Those GRIs , which will most likely stick given the strength of the market , would raise the West Coast spot rate to between $ 7,200 and $ 7,300 per FEU and the East Coast rate to between $ 8,200 and $ 8,300 per FEU , said Kurt McElroy , executive vice president of forwarder Kerry Apex .

There is no consensus among NVOs and carriers as to how long the current situation of tight capacity and elevated freight rates will last . But they say it is becoming more obvious that since the Red Sea diversions show no sign of letting up , it ’ s likely that importers will face GRIs and PSSs at least through Golden Week in Asia in the first week of October .

email : bill . mongelluzzo @ spglobal . com

New trans-Pac services point to peak season rebound for ‘ under-utilized ’ NWSA

By Bill Mongelluzzo

Terminal operators in Seattle and Tacoma say the launch of two trans-Pacific services in recent weeks is a clear indication the gateway has recovered from two years of declining cargo volumes and is well-positioned for a return to growth .

“ Our gateway is under-utilized and is eager for business ,” Jeff Bellerud , chief operations officer at the Northwest Seaport Alliance ( NWSA ) of Seattle and Tacoma , told the Journal of Commerce in mid-June .

The first vessel in a new weekly service by Cosco / OOCL departed from Ningbo , China , on June 12 . The port rotation is Ningbo , Shanghai , Vancouver ( Canada ), Seattle , Lianyungang and back to Ningbo .

The carriers said the new service will generate 50,000 TEUs of cargo per year at SSA Marine ’ s Terminal 30 in Seattle , according to Ed DeNike , president of SSA Containers . DeNike . And with Seattle operating at about 50 % utilization , the additional volumes can be handled easily , he added .

In late May , THE Alliance ( Hapag-Lloyd , Ocean Network Express , HMM and Yang Ming ) brought back the PN3 service it had suspended in 2023 . That service calls in Vietnam , China , South Korea , Vancouver and Tacoma .

The NWSA in 2023 handled 2.97 million laden and empty TEUs , down 12.1 % from 2022 and 20.4 % from 2021 , according to NWSA statistics . But international container volumes in January through April this year are up 5.6 % over the same period last year .

22 Journal of Commerce | July 1 , 2024 www . joc . com