At the end of 2023, affected by the Red Sea crisis, international shipping prices continued to rise. In particular, freight rates on European and American routes doubled in just one month. May is the traditional off-season for the international shipping market, but this year the situation is different. Since the end of April, freight rates on European and American routes have generally increased by double digits, with freight rates on some routes soaring by nearly 50%. “It’s hard to find a box.” "The situation arises again.
Industry insiders believe that this wave of rising shipping prices is driven by a combination of factors such as the situation in the Red Sea, foreign trade companies' rush for exports, and shipowners raising prices. It is expected that freight rates will still fluctuate at high levels in the short term, but will not continue to increase significantly. This freight rate increase will not last long and is expected to ease within three months.
“In view of the huge increase in the current round of major European and American routes, which has nearly doubled, and with the end of the off-season suspension, the injection of new shipping capacity by shipping companies, and the end of the short-term rush for electric vehicles, batteries and energy storage equipment, it is expected that there will be no further substantial increase in the future. market foundation," said Zhong Zhechao, founder and CEO of One Shipping.
When France's CMA CGM announced its first-quarter financial report, it predicted that as the delivery of new ships accelerates, global shipping capacity will be boosted and shipping rates are expected to decline in the future. "The situation in the Red Sea absorbed almost all the new capacity that came to market in the first quarter," Ramon Fernandez, the company's chief financial officer, said on a conference call. He expected upward pressure on freight rates due to regional conflicts and strong consumer demand. It will fall in the second half of this year."
In addition to CMA CGM, international shipping giant Maersk has also recently predicted that there will be a general excess of global shipping capacity in the second half of this year, which means freight rates will fall.
