North American Market:

As the May negotiation season for Trans-Pacific contracts approaches, shipping companies are working to push up spot rates for North America, with an expected increase of $500-600 per container. Capacity affected by suspensions is expected to account for 20% of total capacity over the next two weeks.

West Coast US routes are almost full, with some routes even overloaded, while the East Coast is relatively more relaxed. The strike event that occurred at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on April 6th caused a complete shutdown of the terminals, which has still not been fully resolved. This has led to container backlog, combined with the impact of the Easter holiday, and it is expected that the terminal will be very congested in the near future.

Europe & Mediterranean Market:

Market rates continue to show a slight upward trend, and some shipping companies plan to increase spot rates in the second half of April. Over the next two weeks, suspended capacity for the Mediterranean route will account for approximately 18% and 12% of total capacity respectively. There will be a further increase in market cargo volume, and overall capacity will remain tight.

Article source: KuehneNagel