Market Update
Ocean and air freight rates and trends for the week of January 10, 2018.
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The January 1 GRI was implemented at $400/FEU for Asia <> US East Coast, and it’s holding steady. Space is extremely tight to the USEC.
Despite the lack of space, rates are declining to the US West Coast. The January 1 GRI, which was implemented at $300/FEU, has slipped a bit this week.
The January 15 GRI has been announced at $1,000/FEU. We will be monitoring the level of implementation closely.
Carriers have also announced a GRI and PSS for February 1.
Chinese New Year will begin on February 16. Factories in China will be closed and/or operating at diminished capacity for at least 4 weeks around that time.
Because of increased demand, rates will stay up and space will be more difficult to secure -- both trends that will continue through the start of Chinese New Year.
These strategies can help keep your supply chain moving in advance of Chinese New Year (CNY):
Check out more ways to prepare here!
There’s plenty of momentum for air heading into 2018, thanks to steady demand for e-commerce products and Chinese New Year. However, for now, rates are down slightly, and we aren’t seeing the severe space constraints that characterized the latter half of 2017.
We expect to see higher rates within the next week or two, as demand gets a boost from Chinese New Year (which begins on February 16 this year).
We’re seeing high demand in New Delhi, and space is tighter than usual.
Share a forecast with your Flexport team, so that we can help you secure space. Air capacity is already constrained, and ocean-to-air conversions will exacerbate the issue as we approach Chinese New Year.
Many trucking companies in the Midwest and East Coast are still backed up from last week’s bout of severe weather. There will be more to come -- winter weather is always hard on trucking operations, as it causes mechanical, service, and capacity issues in impacted regions.
CN Rail has reported severe delays and capacity constraints as a result of severe weather. Trains moving from Toronto through Prince Rupert / Vancouver, and from Chicago into Winnipeg and Prince Rupert / Vancouver are moving more slowly than usual and are running with fewer trains.
If you have cargo routing through any of these areas, expect delays (your Flexport team will keep you posted).
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