The reduction in shipping capacity has worked, and freight rates from the Far East to the US West have increased!

NO.1 The reduction in shipping capacity is effective, and freight rates from the Far East to the West Coast of the United States rise.

After a year of plummeting ocean rates, carriers appear to have turned the tables on the key China-to-U.S. West Coast trade, with spot rates up 73% since the end of June. Many shippers have been reluctant to sign new contracts amid uncertainty about U.S. consumer demand.

Latest market data from Oslo-based Xeneta shows ocean freight contract rates are also on a steady upward trajectory, rising 25% since their June lows. Xeneta's data comes from the world's major shipping giants, which show long-term contract prices have fallen by more than 60% since last summer as spot rates have plummeted.

Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, said: "Capacity management is crucial when it comes to controlling freight rates, and in the face of weak demand and a glut of ships, shippers are clear that something must be done."

NO.2 Multimodal transport: two national standards released

The State Administration for Market Regulation recently approved the release of two national standards, "Classification and Code of Multimodal Transport Cargo" and "Identification of Multimodal Transport Units", laying the foundation for further improving comprehensive transportation efficiency and reducing social logistics costs.

The national standard "Classification and Coding of Multimodal Transport Goods" released this time unifies the classification principles and methods, code structure and coding methods of multimodal transport goods, and provides cargo classification and codes for 19 major categories and 116 medium categories..

The national standard "Identification of Multimodal Transport Units" unifies the identification and marking requirements of multimodal transport units to ensure the uniqueness of the identification of transport units.

NO.3 Nationally monitored port container throughput increased by 5.26% month-on-month

According to the Ministry of Transport, according to monitoring and summary data from the Office of the State Council Logistics Guaranteeing and Guaranteeing Leading Group Office, from September 4 to September 10, national freight logistics was operating in an orderly manner.

Among them: the monitored ports completed a cumulative cargo throughput of 240.871 million tons, a month-on-month increase of 1.69%, and completed a container throughput of 5.663 million TEUs, a month-on-month increase of 5.26%.

NO.4 U.S. port handling volume has returned to pre-epidemic levels

In August, U.S. port handling volume returned to pre-pandemic levels. Data showed that U.S. ports imported 2,196,268 twenty-foot equivalent units in August, an increase of 0.4% from July and a 5.5% increase from June. Import volume in August this year was 2.5% higher than in August 2019 before the epidemic.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts that the total monthly import volume from August to October will exceed 2 million TEU for three consecutive months, and the total throughput in 2023 will reach 22.3 million TEU, which is the same as in 2018 before the epidemic. This is an increase of 2% compared to 2019 and an increase of 3% compared to 2019.

"The strong data suggests retailers are optimistic about the holiday season because they won't import goods they think they can't sell," said the National Retail Federation's (NRF) vice president for supply chain and customs policy.

NO.5 DHL Express makes its largest investment in history in South Korea

DHL Express began full operation of the Incheon Gateway after investing 131 million euros (175 billion won) to expand the Incheon Gateway in 2019.

The expansion is aimed at meeting the gateway's growing air cargo demand due to South Korea's growing overseas trade and increased international express imports and exports with places such as Singapore, Japan, China, Australia and Taiwan.

The total construction area of ​​the expanded Incheon Gateway is 59,248 square meters, which is three times that of the previous gateway (19,946 square meters). The throughput has also increased by more than 3.5 times, reaching 28,400 pieces per hour.