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Dear Clients,

In summary, market conditions remain extremely strong and freight rates continue to reflect this and rise.

This past week, one major carrier announced they would be auctioning space into SYDNEY….. WHAT THE??? Was our reaction.

Then when we asked how this would work, they advised they have changed their mind, but would be charging USD7200-7600 per 40’ for a sailing on 13th NOV. Several services are not accepting bookings into SYDNEY at all, hence why this price is in the market.

General market rates are sitting in the USD5500 – 6500 range per 40’ if space needs to be secured for sailings up until WK 47 (NOV 16-22) into the east coast. For the West Coast rates are now hitting USD3500 – 4000 per 40’.

And the news does not get any better….. Many shipping lines are now facing extreme shortages of equipment. ONE / ANL / PIL / RCL / TSL / YML are carriers we are aware of, whom have run out of 40’GP and HQ containers. They are now releasing 2 x 20’GP instead of 40’ equipment.

This is adding further costs onto importers as local wharfage and trucking charges for 2 x 20’ is higher than 1 x 40’. But many importers are accepting it, as they simply need to keep cargo flowing.

Bookings are now being placed by many clients for weeks 48 – 52 and into the New Year. So we encourage you to act as early as possible to avoid missing out on space.

Why is this occurring? As previously advised we are facing a truly global "PEAK SEASON", but as you can see from the below COMBINED PORT STATS into AUSTRALIA, the period MAY – AUG all hit highs compared to the previous 2 years.

I am certain that SEPT and OCT would have as well (apologies I don’t have these available) and likely NOV.
To put the above stats into perspective, in 2019 the top volume mover into the USA was "WALMART" at 893,000 TEU. Second was "TARGET USA" at 600,000. These two companies alone imported more than what we, AUSTRALIA do as a nation. So there is no doubt in our minds that what little equipment is available in China is being released onto USA / EU trade above AU. 


Schedules

  • Carriers are endeavoring to get schedules back onto routine, by bypassing ports both export from China and inbound in Australia. This is not going to be an overnight fix, but will take some months.

This is causing many disruptions and delays that are unavoidable. With many short notices about schedule change.

One client used the phrase "AMATEUR HOUR" when referring to importing into AUSTRALIA, and to be honest. He is not far from the truth. 

The supply chain is not working. And its not just importers feeling the pain, with news filtering through market that EXPORTERS such as HAY, GRAIN and other commodities are being told that their reserved space / volume bookings will not be accepted as carriers are prioritizing the return of empty containers direct into China.

So farmers that have been waiting for years to overcome drought, now have their goods ready, but can’t get them to market.


Update on Industrial Action

  • Patrick’s Terminal action is currently suspended, pending discussions. It could flare up early DEC, which would be bitterly disappointing and have a huge impact right before the holidays.


Update on Empty Parks

  • Sydney container parks are still facing severe congestion. With re-directions or lock outs still occurring. The NSW government is aware of this and they are discussing action such as;

    1. Increasing stack height from 5 x cntrs to 7 x cntrs in the Port Botany Precinct. This would create room for 3000 additional container spaces.

    2. Working with industry to open a new Empty Container Park in Port Botany.

    3. Increasing the usage of underutilized parks in Western Sydney.

At Transways, we appreciate that your business continues to face many challenges, as we near the end of the calendar year. We are here to help your business continue to operate in a very challenging market place, with significant cost increases. We hope you find this information informative and should you wish to discuss at all, please feel free to contact one of the team at Transways.


SYDNEY Congestion Surcharge

  • Market Update of carriers whom have announcement surcharges to call SYDNEY

SHIPPING LINE

AMOUNT IN USD PER TEU

IMPORTS EFFECTIVE DATE

HMM

$230.00

ETD 21st SEPT

ANL

$285.00

ETD 17th SEPT

HAPAG

$300.00

ETD 16th SEPT

PAE/PIL

$300.00

ETA 1st OCT

MSC

$300.00

ETD 15th SEPT

TSL

$280.00

ETA 30th SEPT

ZIM

$250.00

ETD 20th OCT

HAMBURG SUD

$350.00

ETA 1st OCT

MAERSK

$350.00

ETA 1st OCT


Summary

Market conditions remain very challenging, both abroad and locally. Space is at an absolute premium and given the ongoing industrial action delivery services are slower than average and then dehire to empty remain challenging.


Kind regards,

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