In Focus: Attacks in the Red Sea continue
Recent weeks have seen the ongoing attacks in the Red Sea intensifying in a wider area of effect. Mid-month saw rocket attacks against two oil tankers, as well as two separate incidents against merchant vessels. More alarming was an attack against the port of Tel Aviv itself, expanding their area of operations into the Eastern Mediterranean.?
Houthi attacks have already led to a 90% reduction in Red Sea container throughput since the conflict began, according to a report by the Defence Intelligence Agency. The increased risk has driven up war-risk insurance premiums to between 0.7% and 1% of a ship’s total value, compared to less than 0.1% prior to the conflict.
Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, noted that the expanded range of Houthi capabilities now poses a threat not only to the southern Red Sea but potentially to the entire waterway.?
Asia - Europe
Ocean
- The market remains tight with significant space constraints across trades ex Asia. Recent data indicates a 6% cancellation rate in total capacity for the next 11 weeks, reflecting carriers' confidence in maintaining high rates.
- ?Rates for August have shown a slight decrease compared to July, however implementation remains uneven.?
Air
- Shanghai (SHA): Due to the recent typhoon, some flights were cancelled, creating a backlog that will be cleared by mid-week. The market is stable, with bookings being stable due to many in the EU on vacation. Space should be booked at least one week in advance.
- Ningbo (NGB): The market is stable, but hot weather is causing? many shipments to be rolled. Rates are stable, with final rates depending on actual flight checks.
- Tianjin (TSN): Rates remain largely unchanged from last week, with KE maintaining rates and OZ accepting bookings on a case-by-case basis, though it’s worth noting that space is tighter than last week.
- Dalian (DLC) / Beijing (PEK): Major services (SQ/CX/LH/CA/KL/AF/JL) have stable rates. Dense cargo can apply for spot rates. Volume cargo needs to be booked 7-10 days in advance, accepting flight splits. Hot weather is affecting loading capacity, with space fully booked until the weekend.
- Qingdao (TAO): The market is stable with slightly reduced rates to most airports due to available capacity. Spot rates are available for dense cargo on a case-by-case basis.
- Guangzhou (CAN): Due to recent typhoon weather, some airlines have loading limits, causing tight space and potential rate increases.?
- Shenzhen (SZX): The market is stable this week but all shipments still need to be checked on a case-by-case basis.
- Xiamen (XMN): The market is stable, though all shipments need to be checked case-by-case based on actual flight bookings.
Asia - USA?
- Space is softening thanks to extra capacity in the market over the past couple of weeks, however we still advise to book space 2-3 weeks in advance.?
- Rates have shown a decline for the first time in 3 months.?
Air
- Shanghai (SHA): Due to the recent typhoon, some flights have been cancelled, creating a backlog that will be cleared by mid-week. The market is stable, with bookings being steady. Rates have been stable with minor fluctuations. It is suggested to book space at least one week in advance.
- Ningbo (NGB): Rates have been stable, and the market remains steady. It is recommended to check space and spot rates frequently.
- Tianjin (TSN): KE rates remain the same as last week, while OZ accepts bookings case-by-case. The market is tighter than last week, but JL is offering competitive rates for volume cargo.
- Dalian (DLC) / Beijing (PEK): Major services from CX/JL/NH/BR keep rates unchanged. Dense cargo can apply for spot rates. Volume cargo needs to be booked 7-10 days in advance, accepting flight splits. Hot weather is affecting loading capacity, with space fully booked until the weekend.
- Qingdao (TAO): The market to the US has increased significantly this week, with space tight to some AODs (Airport of Destinations) like BOS, JFK, SEA, DFW, etc. Airlines still release spot rates for dense cargo case-by-case.
- Guangzhou (CAN): Due to recent typhoon weather, some airlines have loading limits, causing tight space and potential rate increases.?
- Shenzhen (SZX): Rates are stable this week. Deferred service rates to the US West Coast are $5.73-$5.87/kg and to the East Coast $6.28-$6.63/kg. All shipments need to be checked case-by-case with carriers
- Xiamen (XMN): The market is stable with current rates around $6.75/kg to the US East Coast and $5.65/kg to LAX with deferred service. Final rates depend on actual flight checks.
Europe - USA?
Ocean
- Rates from North Europe to the USA have fallen slightly, while rates from the Mediterranean have increased due to reduced capacity.?
- Congestion in the Mediterranean, coupled with schedule reliability issues and blank sailings, remains significant, leading to increased rates for July.?
- Northern Europe demand has not been affected by the reduced capacity, with most carriers extending their rate levels until the end of Q3
- Equipment deficits continue in certain areas of South and East Germany, as well as Poland.
Indian Subcontinent - Europe
Ocean
- The market from the Indian Subcontinent to Europe is experiencing significant disruptions. For the first half of August, FAK rates from India have risen, with Named Account Contracts (NACs) seeing a Peak Season Surcharge (PSS).?
- Heavy congestion is reported at transshipment ports such as Singapore and Colombo. In Colombo, recent student protests, highway blockades, and curfews have exacerbated delays, leading to significant container backlogs.?
- Importers are facing high demurrage charges, with the Chittagong port yards now occupying 80% of their space due to the congestion. The government is considering waiving these charges to alleviate the burden on businesses.
- There is a significant imbalance in equipment, especially with 20ft containers being more prevalent in imports and 40ft containers being used for exports in Bangladesh.?
- In South India, carriers are struggling with equipment availability due to transshipment issues in Colombo. The overall equipment situation is showing slight improvement, but challenges remain.
Country updates
USA
Ocean
- Los Angeles/Long Beach: Currently, 4 vessels are waiting to berth with a 6-day dwell on the rail terminals. Yard capacity is at 67%.
- Oakland: 5 vessels are waiting to berth with a 7-day rail dwell time.
- Seattle/Tacoma: 5 vessels are waiting to berth with a 9-day rail dwell time.
- New York/New Jersey: 2 vessels are waiting to berth with a 4-day dwell on the rail. Yard capacity is at 81%.
- Savannah: The situation has normalised after the vessel bunching, with 4 vessels waiting and a 3-day dwell.
- Norfolk: 4 vessels are waiting with a 3-day dwell.
Benelux:
- PSA 913: Yard at 70-75% utilisation. Reefers at 60-65%.
- PSA 869: Yard at 65-70% utilisation. Reefers at 60-65%.
- Both terminals were not affected by the Crowdstrike outage.
- AGW: Antwerp Gateways yard at 60-65%. Reefers at 50-55% utilisation.
- Terminal was not affected by the Crowdstrike outage.
- ECT: Yard at 60-65%. Terminal was affected by the Crowdstrike outage which resulted in operational down times but no backlog.
- RWG: Utilisation at 70-75%. Terminal was not affected by the Crowdstrike outage.
Road
UK:
- Council leaders have warned of a supply chain meltdown due to new border checks in Kent.
- A letter was sent to Yvette Cooper MP and Louise Haigh MP after a meeting in Dover on 24 July, requesting urgent government action to prevent border disruption impacting trade and travel between the UK and France.
- The letter emphasized that gridlock in Kent would affect supply chains, making EU Entry Exit System (EES) checks a national issue, not just a local one.
- ?These checks, part of post-Brexit regulations, are causing significant delays and congestion at border crossings, affecting the on-time delivery of goods.
We anticipate a shortage of availability and the occurrence of delays around the bank holiday periods. Plan ahead and allow extra time for your products to be delivered.
- Aug 5 - Croatia, Ireland (Eire), Spain*
- August 15- Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain
- August 16 -? Romania
- August 19 - Hungary
- August 20 - Estonia, Hungary
- August 29 - Slovakia
- September 2 - Luxembourg
- September 6 - Bulgaria
- September 8 - Malta, Spain
- September 9 - Spain
- September 11 - Spain
- September 15 - Slovakia
- September 17 - Spain
- September 20 - Germany
- September 21 - Malta
- September 22 - Bulgaria
- September 23 - Bulgaria
- September 24 - Austria
- September 27 - Belgium
- September 28 - Czech Republic
