It has been a challenging year for those who need to import from China to Europe. Day by day, shipping increases and the stability that once existed seems difficult to achieve. This unstoppable growth adds more pressure to the sector, which has already been suffering the impact caused by the lack of delivery of containers in China and the constraints in several world ports.
The maritime import from China to Europe is facing ever higher values, with FAK rates reaching increases of 1,000% compared to a year ago.
The impact of this context on businesses which base their activity on imports is overwhelming, many of them with fixed price agreements already established and which did not foresee this type of increases. With the shipping costs to skyrocket, the solution is to change the origin of the imports or suffer with a huge reduction in the operation profit margin.
After the recent blockade of the Suez Canal that hampered the circulation of hundreds of ships, the latest event that is causing damage to maritime transport took place at the Port of Yantian in late May, where more than 40 cargo ships were paralyzed, affecting now, other Chinese ports.
The impact of this stoppage in Shenzhen is even greater than what happened in March in the Suez. Container shipping constraints affect the replenishment of goods in various supply chains of industries and trades worldwide. According to those responsible for the Port of Yantian, it will still take a few weeks for traffic to be normalized. However, the impact of this situation is expected to be felt both in the delays in the circulation of goods and in the associated fees in the coming months.
The following graph, presented by Alphaliner, shows – unequivocally – how much the values in maritime imports from China have risen sharply, since January 2020:
At Extra Transportes, our team dedicated to maritime transport has been working continuously with its customers in order to try to minimize, as far as possible, the impact that this whole context is having on their businesses. Count on us to reach a successful port in this daily challenge!