The first week after the Spring Festival, the good news for shipping from the US and Europe is really…no

According to the Baltic Freight Index (FBX), the Asia to Northern Europe index rose 3.6% from the previous week to $8,455 /FEU, up 145% since the beginning of December and up 428% from a year ago.
The Drewry Global Container Freight Composite Index rose 1.1 percent to $5,249.80 /FEU this week.The Shanghai-Los Angeles spot rate rose 3% to $4,348 /FEU.

New York – Rotterdam rates rose 2% to $750 /FEU.In addition, rates from Shanghai to Rotterdam rose 2% to $8,608 /FEU, and from Los Angeles to Shanghai rose 1% to $554 /FEU.

Congestion and chaos have peaked at ports and traffic in Europe and the US.

Shipping costs have soared and European Union retailers are facing shortages

At present, some European ports, including Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Antwerp, have been cancelled, leading to the accumulation of goods, shipping delays.

The cost of shipping from China to Europe has risen fivefold in the past four weeks because of tight shipping space.Affected by this, Europe home goods, toys and other industries of retailers inventory are tight.

A Freightos survey of 900 small and midsize companies found 77 percent were facing supply constraints.

The IHS Markit survey showed supplier delivery times are stretching to the highest level since 1997.The supply crunch has hit manufacturers across the euro zone as well as retailers.

“In the current situation, a number of factors could lead to higher prices, including demand volatility in global markets, port congestion and container shortages,” the commission said.”We are in discussions with market participants to fully understand the current situation and consider the future direction.”

In North America, congestion has increased and severe weather has worsened

Congestion in LA/Long Beach is likely to spread across the West Coast, with congestion worsening at all major docks and record levels at two major docks on the West Coast.

Due to the new epidemic, the productivity of the coastal labor force decreased, resulting in the delay of ships, with the port complex delayed by an average of eight days.Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said at a news conference: “In normal times, before a surge in imports, we typically see 10 to 12 container ship berths a day at the Port of Los Angeles.Today, we handle an average of 15 container ships a day.”

“Right now, about 15 percent of ships going to Los Angeles dock directly.Eighty-five percent of ships are anchored, and the average wait time has been increasing.The ship was anchored for about two and a half days from November last year and has been moored for eight days so far in February.”

Container terminals, freight companies, railways and warehouses are all overloaded.The port is expected to handle 730,000 TEUs in February, up 34 percent from the same period last year.It is estimated that the port will reach 775,000 TEU in March.

According to La’s Signal, 140,425 TEU of cargo will be unloaded at the port this week, up 86.41% from a year earlier.The forecast for next week is 185,143 TEU, and the week after next is 165,316 TEU.
Container liners are looking at alternative ports on the West Coast and moving ships or changing the order of port calls.The Northwest Seaport Alliance of Oakland and Tacoma-Seattle has reported advanced negotiations with carriers for new services.

There are currently 10 boats waiting in Auckland;Savannah has 16 boats on the waiting list, up from 10 a week.

As at other North American ports, increased layover time for imports due to heavy snowstorms and high empty inventory continue to affect turnover at New York terminals.

Rail services have also been affected, with some nodes shut down.

Recent shipment of foreign trade, freight forwarder also pay attention to observe.