Ocean Shipping Costs Remain High
We are not expecting a reduction in costs through January at this point. Chinese New Year is early next year in 2021, thus continuing the pressure on price. The Chinese Ministry of Transport and US Federal Maritime Commission have both been negotiating aggressively with ocean carriers to curtail cost. Because of their pressure and involvement, it is less likely than it was just a few weeks ago that prices will continue to rise, but neither are they likely to go down. Despite all the instability, JMC is still able to secure last minute bookings and find creative solutions to meet your delivery deadlines.
DIRECT FROM THE FRONT LINES AT ORIGIN
OUR MARKET-LEADING PARTNER IN ASIA COMMUNICATES TODAY'S SITUATION
"Rates will remain unchanged thru October 31st. But if you expected a rate reduction in November, nope, not a chance! To ask for a reduced rate would not accommodate space in November according to carrier sources. Regarding a November GRI (General Rate Increase), we don't think rates will increase, but neither will they reduce their costs."
Carriers are not taking any new bookings for week 44. Capacity on all lanes is 125-150% overbooked for week 44/45.
Many customers are already attempting to arrange bookings for November vessels and beyond. The November forecast is still very, very strong. Due to high shipping demand and limited capacity, some containers are being rolled from booked vessels at origin each week. This causes delays on your arrival dates at destination as well as origin port congestion as you can see depicted above.
AT DESTINATION
West Coast ports, particularly Los Angeles/Long Beach, and even Oakland, are being hit hard, as more and more volumes in the last six months have concentrated on direct to the west coast, versus traditional cargo flows. As a result, we are still facing chassis shortages, port congestion (hampering vessel berthing and delaying container pickups), and increased trucking prices out of California (current rates are 40-60% higher than the prior year). Our expectation is that these challenges will continue to last through the rest of 2020 and into early January.
HOLIDAY NOTICES
Please take note of the following holidays and work with your JMC project manager to plan your shipments accordingly
INDONESIA
October 28th through 30th Prophet Muhammed's Birthday