Following unprecedentedly high container shipping spot freight rates last driven by supply chain disruption rates on some trades have fallen by as much as two-thirds in recent months and this now bleeding into contract rates as shippers pushed for renegotiations.
Toft also noted external macro-economic pressures which will put pressure on cargo shopping. “But we are also seeing rising inflation, rising interest rates and rising energy prices, so there will no doubt be some difficult quarters ahead,” he warned.
MSC has been acting to cut capacity with blank sailings and at the end of last month announced it would be suspending its Sequoia service as part of the 2M alliance linking China and Korea with US West Coast ports. The company noted “significantly reduced demand for shipments into the US West Coast during the past weeks”.
