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Major stoppage! U.S. line freight rates rise against the trend! European line continues to fall | Marine export logistics
May 06,2025
Recently, although cargo volumes on trans-Pacific routes have fallen significantly due to the tariff war, shipping companies have resorted to canceling routes or routes to support the US spot market and new annual long-term contract prices.
The latest Shanghai Export Container Freight Index (SCFI) shows that the United States to the West, the United States to the East route freight rose against the trend, the increase was 6.12%, 0.8%. However, the market is divided on this issue. According to cargo representatives, freight prices on the US line have remained for two weeks in a row, the US-West and US-East routes have remaining at the $2,000 and $3,000 levels respectively, and some non-affiliated shipping companies have even called for $1,900 to snap up cargo. Although some ship companies have announced a price increase of $400-500 for the US West route on May 1, it is difficult to increase prices given the current situation of fewer ships.
The U.S. port of Long Beach, Calif., expects a 44% drop in ship arrivals from May 4 to 10, compared with the same period last year. Sea-Intelligence data show that there are 10 flights cancelled this week, accounting for 28% of the weekly capacity, and the proportion of cancelled flights next week is as high as 42%; A further 25 per cent of capacity is expected to be cancelled from 12 to 18 May. Drewry reports that there will be 72 cancellations between now and the end of May, with 56% concentrated on trans-Pacific routes.
In response to the decline in cargo volume on the US line, ship companies moved some US line capacity to the European line, which made it difficult to stop the decline of European line freight prices. Carriers such as Maersk offer freight prices in the range of $1,550- $1,650 per 40 feet, or as low as $1,400- $1,450. In order to save the European line freight rates, shipping giant MSC will part of the 24,000-TEU giant container ship out of the main Far East - Northern Europe route, and put into Asia - West Africa and the Mediterranean route. Meanwhile, MSC appears to have shut down its troubled independent Asia-Mediterranean Phoenix service.
Work began to pick up orders after the May Day holiday, and around May 15 is a key node. Several airline operators and cargo carriers said that the United States retail giant warned that shelves could be empty in a few weeks, and the traditional return to school season will also begin to pull cargoes. In addition, the start of taking orders after the May Day holiday, and China's raw materials are shipped to Southeast Asia to make finished products, whether to start to pull supplies in mid-May and early June deserve sustained attention.
The big question now is whether the GRI (Consolidated Rate Increase Surcharge) and PSS (Peak Season Surcharge) announced this month will continue or weaken. Some argue that these measures are based on optimistic assumptions, such as the removal of tariffs or high exports from Southeast Asia. If the situation remains unchanged, these measures may not take effect or be weakened.
Latest SCFI Tariff Data
Shanghai to Europe $1200 / TEU, down $60, down 4.76% week;
Shanghai to the Mediterranean freight rate 2089 US dollars / TEU, down 40 US dollars, down 1.88% week;
Shanghai to the United States and Spain tariff 2272 US dollars / FEU, up 131 US dollars, up 6.12% week;
Shanghai to the United States to the East freight rate 3283 US dollars / FEU, up 26 US dollars, up 0.8% weekly;
The price per container on the Persian Gulf route was $1,622, down $39 and down 3.4% on the week;
The South American route (Santos) cost $1,393 per crate, down $21, or 3.4% on the week;
The Australian-New Zealand route cost $814 per box, down $41, or 4.8 per cent on the week;
The Far East to Southeast Asia per TEU fell $16, or 3.52%, compared with the previous period;
Far East to Kansai, Japan, Far East to Kanto, Japan per TEU is the same as the previous period;
Far East to South Korea rose $1 per TEU.
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