Highlights

  • China-US ocean rates are still rising, and the September 1 GRI’s should cause the West Coast and East Coast indexes to jump about 10% next week.
  • Ocean peak season shipping is in full swing, as evident by China-US shipments operating on a 3-4 week backlog since mid-July.
  • China-US general air freight rates also rose this week ending months of inertia.

Ocean freight peak season came early with transpacific prices at an 18 month high. This may be a high before a low, as some of the increase in volume has been importers getting orders in before tariffs on Chinese products take effect.

“So has this year’s peak season merely been brought forward rather than extended? We’ll know the answer to that by where prices are sitting in early October, after China’s Golden Week factory shut down.” Zvi Schreiber, Freightos CEO 

Ocean Freight Rates

  • Transpacific prices are higher than at any time since the Freightos Baltic Indexes started in January 2016.
  • China-West Coast rates are 37% higher (China-East Coast 38% higher) than at the same time last year.
  • Prices on the other indexes are also up on last year.
  • With recent GRIs sticking, it’s no surprise that, some carriers have announced GRIs for September 15 GRI as well as October 1.

Air Freight Rates

  • General prices out of China rose slightly this week, (China-US by 30c, China-Europe by 20c).
  • However, that’s against a backdrop of air freight prices barely moving since Spring. China-US general rates had been stuck at $2.90 since 29 March.
  • Except for a 20c dip through August caused by European factory closures, China-Europe general rates also hadn’t moved since 29 March.