Indian freight agents active in U.S. trade report that contract deal sales calls from major container shipping companies have been increasing in recent days, trying to maintain or increase the number of more fixed momentum on trade routes as markets begin to relax. Freight agent informants interviewed by “Business Magazine” generally believe thatIndamex Network ExpansionIt has been “replenished” the available shipping space in ports on the West Coast of India.
The freight agent pointed out that carrier executives are seeking quantity-linked pricing expectations after stipulating the terms over the past two months or so,This caused them to even suspend bookings for several weeks in late June.One freight agent, who did not disclose his name, said: “They are now chasing numbers as increased quotas come under pressure and route managers are willing to extend confirmed allocations to guarantee loading,Rather than the widespread cargo rolling reported in the early August cruise.”
Vivek Kele, director of Teamglobal Logistics, headquartered in Mumbai, said: “We see all carriers showing great flexibility in preparing to ship according to contract quantities. In the past, they were all spot businesses, with contractual commitments not being fulfilled.”
Connor Helm, maritime procurement manager at Flexport, an American digital freight agency, addressed theBusiness MagazineThat said, after weeks of tension, the market is in a corner as momentum resumes, with all services running around weekly sailings as planned last week. “For the first time in more than a month, the North West India-US East Coast trade showed an oversupply trend, mainly due topotential labor strikes,We have reduced demand for ships approaching US East Coast ports,” Helm said. “As long as one or two carriers reduce freight rates on trade routes, the other carriers will follow suit, as service differentials are insufficient to support premiums.”
However, the carrier's informant told the freight agent about the “spot overselling” attempt. “SPOT BOOKINGS ACCOUNT FOR ONLY 10% OF OUR CAPACITY UTILIZATION, AND MOST OF OUR ALLOCATION IS MET BY CONTRACT VOLUME.” A senior Indian executive at a major European ferry company said.
Meanwhile, spot freight rates for West India-US East Coast cargoes continued to decline on a weekly basis, and freight agents believe that carriers have no opportunity to push through the September increase after abandoning or rescheduling the August pricing plan. As of Friday, Delta Cruises (CMA CGM) has spot pricing for the September route from Nhava Sheva to New York at $5,387 per TEU; $5,482 per FEU, the source said, adding that carriers of Middle Eastern Overseas and Modern Merchant class seats have begun to capture the market at low prices To fill in empty spaces.
“We expect the FEU rate for [USEC] in mid-September to fall to around $4,000,” a dealership sales executive noted.As of August 29, Standard & Poor's Global Business Journal (Journal of Commerce) ), a sister company, UPS Energy Information (Platts), set the India-U.S. East Coast immediate exchange rate at $7,262 per FEU, down 15% this week.
However, for Indian shippers, the momentum in September is not so optimistic. The source noted that Ocean Network Express's West India-North American routes will be discontinued in Weeks 36, 38 and 39, and CMA CGM's new Indamex service will be discontinued in Week 40.
