As the "throat" of international shipping, the tense situation in the Red Sea has brought serious challenges to the global supply chain.
At present, the impact of the Red Sea crisis, such as rising costs, supply interruptions of raw materials, and extended delivery times, are gradually emerging.
On the 24th, S&P Global announced the UK’s Composite Purchasing Managers Index for January. S&P wrote in the report that after the outbreak of the Red Sea crisis, the manufacturing supply chain was the most affected.
Container freight shipping schedules were generally extended in January, and supplier delivery times experienced the largest extension since September 2022.
But you know what? The Durban port in South Africa has been in a state of long-term congestion. A shortage of empty containers in Asia's export hubs poses new challenges, prompting carriers to potentially add ships to alleviate the shortage. And there may be widespread shipping delays and container shortages in China in the future.
Due to the shortage of ship supply caused by the Red Sea crisis, the decline in freight rates was smaller than in previous years. Despite this, ships are still tight, and major shipping companies still retain shipping capacity in the off-season in order to cope with the market shortage of ships. The global shipping strategy of reducing sailings continues. According to statistics, within the five weeks from February 26 to March 3, 99 of 650 scheduled sailings were canceled, with a cancellation rate of 15%.
Ahead of Chinese New Year, shipping companies have adopted a series of adjustment measures, including shortening voyages and speeding up sailings, to mitigate disruptions caused by diversions in the Red Sea. Shipping disruptions and rising costs may have peaked as demand gradually eases after Chinese New Year and new ships come into service, adding extra capacity.
But the good news is that Chinese merchant ships can now safely pass through the Red Sea. This is also a blessing in misfortune. Therefore, for goods with urgent delivery time, in addition to providing rail freight from China to Europe, for goods to the Middle East, Senghor Logistics can choose other ports of call, such as Dammam, Dubai, etc., and then ship from the terminal for land transportation.
Post time: Jan-29-2024
