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RAY OF LIGHT
- An Expert's Opinion -
#6: Fretting on Freight by Florian Frese
Container xChange is a Germany-based service provider offering a “neutral platform for container owners
and users to collaborate easily and efficiently”. It tracks supply and demand dynamics of containers around the world.
Mr Florian Frese, Head of Marketing at Container xChange, has agreed to share his insights on the current
container market situation.
Below is an excerpt from his monthly email blog. His contact details are shared at the end of the article.
Container prices stabilize after Golden Week drop
In the past year, we’ve seen container prices soaring to new heights time and time again. So, when Golden Week took place at the beginning of October, you may have held your breath in disbelief when the first news of container prices going down hit the press.
After a few unsteady - and for some hopeful - breaths, the big question on many minds was: Will prices stay put, or will they surge again?
On Container xChange, more than 10,000 transactions take place every month. We decided to look into that data to figure out exactly what’s happened with the container prices in China since Golden Week.
And it seems, prices have stabilized in China across container types after the drop in week 39, at least for the time being👇
Let’s have a look at the prices for two of the most common container types: 40HC and 20DC.
At Golden Week prices for 40HC in China went down by 17%, where the price level has seemingly stabilized. Prior to October, you had to pay more than $8000, on average, for a 40HC. Now, you can now get your hands on the high cube for around $6500.
However, not all container types went down in price after Golden Week. The 20DC saw a dip in price at the beginning of the month but has since increased 8% at major Chinese ports. Though, in Shanghai, the 20DC price has remained stagnant since Golden Week.
Why is this happening?
Golden Week is a week-long holiday in China. As with any other national holiday in China, it impacts the rest of the global shipping industry. This also means that many shippers have tried to speed up production and delivery of their goods, to have them shipped before the week-long holiday.
Adding on top, the shipping industry was already sailing in the highest gear due to COVID-19, struggling to keep. up with demand. The increased pre-holiday pressure and pandemic have both impacted the rising container. prices. With the dip in productivity, caused by Golden Week, we saw the container prices fall, as the demand for the boxes lowered.
Now, it’s all about what will happen to the container prices - should you sell, buy, or wait it out.
Have you decided yet?
Florian FRESE
Container xChange
Email: ffr@container-xchange.co
https://container-xchange.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/container-xchange/
Supplemental Readings :
[03 Nov] Supply Chain Disruption: Is the worst over?
[03 Nov] Reefer container freight rates to stay firm in 2022
[03 Nov] 'Exceptional market' conditions in shipping to persist until Q1 2022, says Maersk
Should you have any feedback and/or comments, OR if you wish to contribute, please write to us at Farahdian.Aziz@ssx.com.sg. We hope you have enjoyed the read!