While the Chainese Gov. is struggling to find a way to end “Zero tolerance” policy the Chinese container ports are struggling with congestion, partly caused by lockdown due to the “Zero tolerance” policy:
PS> The Chinese New Year rush also add to the problem, since those not in lockdown are trying to get back to their home towns/villages for the long holiday and Reunion Dinner with their families. (Some haven’t been able to do so for 2 years)
Congestion is spreading and threatening the fruit export from SA:
Cape Town congestion puts South Africa's fruit at risk - SHIPPING NEWS - SeaNews
Things are changing quick in shipping:
If you have problems finding slots for your containers, just order your own container ship:
A British forwarder takes a step further and start a new Container Line from China to Britain direct:
PS> The name has long traditions in shipping, though.
Record charter rate for Container ships:
Greedy foreign shipping companies, taking advantage of US consumers that has to pay more for all the junk they buy that they don’t really need. No American companies would do a thing like that.
Who pays that kind of rates anyway? Must be some other greedy foreigners.
Oooops!!:
https://www.pashagroup.com/
The blame game 2.0:
The FBX Index for Container trade doesn’t give much hope for help to alleviate the congestion in the near future:
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/fbx-index-what-will-be-the-new-reality/
Three solutions:
Modernize and automate US ports (longshoremen STFU);
More small ships going to small underutilized US ports;
Become more self-reliant with more domestically produced quality long lasting goods, and less dependent upon cheap foreign goods with short lifespans. (E.g., Make refrigerators in the US that last
50 years (like we use to) instead of cheap imports that only last 5 years.
Maybe using gas carriers as container carriers could help?
No, not conventional LNG Carriers but one built to carry liquified gasses in ISO containers:
Brand new ship:
With all due respect to the ship’s owner, he may think it is a gas carrier, but that is a container ship. What the owner uses it for is up to them, but it is set up to carry 40ft boxes. Those boxes could be standard 40ft dry containers, tanker containers, flat racks, and probably a mix of 20 footers as well.
Container freight costs are dropping:
Now we can expect to hear that it is because Biden “put his foot down” and those greedy foreign Shipowners got scared sh*tless.
Alternatively; It could be because of market forces (supply and demand) in good capitalistic fashion. (??)
More Mega Container Vessels available to carry containers between hub ports may help:
As well as smaller feeder ships to bring the containers from the hub ports to smaller ports closer to their destination:
PS> Smaller ships are also used on direct routes between smaller ports in both Asia and Europe/Americas.
The respite from the CNY effect is over. Now for the next Covid effect:
UPDATE:
China open up it’s ports again:
Some foreign media recently claimed that the number of ships waiting to load or discharge cargo at the Port of Shanghai had “skyrocketed to more than 300 this week, a near fivefold increase in the past two and half weeks.”
Global Times appears to disagree:
Chinese carriers are shipping more empty containers than full ones out of U.S. West Coast ports:
As is well known; “full containers make money, empty containers cost money”.
Why would container lines leave US ports with mostly empties if there were full containers waiting to be carried?
Slight change from Ombugge’s earlier post:
COVID-19: Extraordinary image shows heavy marine traffic around Shanghai amid concerns over impact of lockdown on supply chains | World News | Sky News
