Freight forwarding industry insiders recently revealed that the booking situation of European and American routes has been tense until early June, and shipping companies have seized this opportunity to announce an increase in freight rates on June 1. Specifically, the U.S. rate has increased again by about $1,600 (including peak season surcharges), while the European rate has increased by $1,000 to $1,200.

This adjustment made the freight rate of the European and US-West routes break the $6,000 mark, and the freight rate of the US-East route is more than $7,000. In the last week of May, space is so scarce that freight forwarders may struggle to secure it, even at a markup of $500 to $1,000. At this time, shipping companies are based on customer exchange records to determine the allocation of shipping space and prices, the market has obviously entered the seller's market. The Shanghai Container Freight Rate Index (SCFI) rose further on the 24th, by 7.25% to 2,703.43 points, hitting a new high since September 2022. Among them, the weekly freight rate of the European route rose the most, reaching 11.77%, the Mediterranean route rose 7.35%, the United States East route rose 7.57%, and the United States West route rose 3.26%.

In just five weeks from April 26 to now, the freight rate of the European route has risen by 72.96%, the Mediterranean line has risen by 39.37%, the Western line has risen by 63.43%, and the Eastern line has risen by 59.22%. This wave of freight rate rise is mainly attributed to the early arrival of the peak season of the European line, as well as the strengthening of the inventory in the United States, which led to an increase in the volume of sea freight. At the same time, some customers in order to reduce the impact of freight increases, shipment in advance, further aggravating the tension of shipping space, promoting the rise in freight rates. Forwarders in the industry said that the trend of freight rates needs to be observed month by month and quarter by quarter. At present, in addition to the Red Sea crisis forcing shipping operators to detour and weather factors, with the end of the off-season reduction class, the investment of new shipping capacity by shipping companies, and the end of the short-term rush of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, energy storage equipment, the market supply and demand situation in the second half of the year will have an important impact on the trend of freight rates.

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