Ship routes are being canceled due to various factors, including the reduction in maritime transport capacity, which is expected to be 20,000 TEU`s.
In April, 5 blank sailings have already been confirmed. This leads to a backlog of cargo at the ports, which can cause space difficulties for your cargo and delays in shipping.
For all the above reasons, the allocation of space on ships is close to its maximum capacity, which could cause problems in accepting cargo weighing more than 18 tons per container, since shipowners are giving priority to lighter cargo, which could impact the transportation of overweight cargo (more than 18 tons/container).
Chinese holidays (April 4-6) + Labor Day (May 1-5):
During this period, the operations of factories, ports, airports and warehouses are partially interrupted or reduced, which can lead to delays in logistics operations, the release of cargo at port terminals and land transportation.
Next month, due to Labor Day in China, we anticipate the challenges of shutting down and reducing activities in factories, ports, airports and warehouses.
Direct Route:
A chaotic scenario is expected in the coming weeks for direct routes.
Long routes (via Europe):
Special freight and allocation conditions are available for long routes, and understanding and planning demand is crucial, as reservations will become available more quickly and freight costs will be considerably lower compared to fast routes.
The main trade route between Asia and Europe, via the Red Sea, is still under threat due to the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza. This is causing ships to bypass South Africa, increasing transit times by 15 days, which could affect delivery times and increase transportation prices.
Low freight rates are difficult to honor in the process of allocating and requesting space. It is therefore of the utmost importance to carefully analyze “miracle” offers.
This whole situation is causing fares to rise every week.
Space capacity in April:
Space capacity for April is fully booked, with a large part of the shipowners’ capacity and departures already used up.
With this in mind, we suggest that you work on scheduling your shipments in advance, be aware of these circumstances and take appropriate measures to mitigate any potential impact on your operations.
Our commitment is to ensure that these factors create as few problems as possible for our clients.
