In the past three weeks, spot container shipping prices from Asia to the U.S. East Coast have plummeted by more than 40 percent, reports said, as peak season momentum begins to wane, terminal strikes may occur on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico, prompting cargo transfers. According to Standard Poll WorldwideBusiness MagazineData from sister company Platts showed the rate as of Monday was fixed at $5,000 per FEU, down from $8,500 per FEU on September 4. News insiders expect that interest rates will fall further ahead of China's golden week, which starts on October 1.
Many East Coast shippers introduced year-end holiday merchandise in July ahead of the International Dockworkers Association (ILA) strike threat, and August was particularly busy for West Coast ports as cargo arrivals changed, said the shipping agent, who declined to disclose his name. Standard Poole WorldwideBusiness MagazineData from sister company PIERS showed U.S. imports from Asia, which arrived at the main West Coast gateway in August, grew by about 25% to 30% year-on-year, while imports from ports in the East and Gulf of Mexico grew by about 25% to 30% year-on-year.
According to PIERS, many shippers loaded their cargo ahead of time to avoid peak season surcharges and potential disruptions related to labor negotiations, resulting in a monthly increase of nearly 9% in shipments to the East and Gulf of Mexico regions outside Asia in July. In August, these trading volumes fell by about 2.6% compared to the previous quarter, which could signal an end to the surge.
“In places like the Ohio Valley, a lot of companies are keen to continue using the East Coast because the shipping methods are similar and can save money, but now we've seen a lot of business move away from the East Coast, things have reached a warming level,” said one US freight agent.
PIERS DATA SHOWED THAT TOTAL CONTAINER IMPORTS ARRIVING ON THE EAST COAST IN AUGUST FELL TO 107 MILLION STANDARD CASES, DOWN ABOUT 4% FROM JULY, BUT STILL UP 9.1% COMPARED TO AUGUST 2023, THE SECOND HIGHEST TOTAL SINCE OCTOBER 2022.Several ports have announced plans to prepare for the strikeFor example, extended operating hours, and some carriers have announced plans to implement a disruption surcharge.
At the same time, carriers plan to significantly accelerate their capacity cuts from Asia to the United States next month, even as they deploy more total tonnage.
According to maritime intelligence provider EEsea, about 13% of total shipments deployed to the eastern US and Gulf of Mexico coasts are scheduled to be cleared in October, trade routes will see the largest single-month clearance since February; trade volumes from Asia to the US East and Gulf of Mexico are expected to decrease by 69,104 in September Standard boxes will be increased to 124,838 standard boxes in October. Shipping to the East Coast is expected to increase from 791,503 standard cases in September to 829,987 standard cases.
