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Congestion and costlier bunkers keeping intra-Asia rates high

Unrelenting congestion and rising bunker prices have pushed intra-Asia rates up for a month. Drewry's Intra-Asia Container Index climbed for a fourth straight week, with typhoon and geopolitical disruptions combining with pre-Golden Week (1 October) demand to drive up spot rates across key routes. On 17 September, intra-Asia rates edged up 6% from 10 September, to $1,402 per 40ft, as typhoon-related disruption continued to ripple through supply chains and constrain available capacity. And spot rates from China to South-east and South Asia strengthened this week, reflecting a spike in demand ahead of the Chinese holiday, changes in effective capacity and the network's ability to readjust following operational disruptions. Rates from Shanghai to Laem Chabang and Ho Chi Minh City increased 15%, to $1,324 and $1,161 per 40ft , respectively. Shanghai-Nhava Sheva rates gained 1%, to $3,897 per 40ft. This was mirrored in the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index, which on 18 September, showed Shanghai-South-east Asia rates up 9% from 11 September, to $1,104 per 40ft. Shanghai-Nhava Sheva rates were relatively unchanged, at $3,672 per 40ft. And bunker prices have gone up again, in line with Brent oil prices, and this has also put upward pressure on rates. On 16 September, ONE upped its emergency fuel surcharge to $60, from $38. With the market firmly in their favour, shipping lines are tweaking their intra-Asia services. CMA CGM has restructured its dedicated China-Middle East CIMEX1 and CIMEX3 services as part of efforts to strengthen its intra-Asia network. CIMEX1 will be streamlined by removing Qingdao, Hong Kong, and Sohar, with the revised rotation focusing on South China, Singapore, and the Middle East. Meanwhile, Qingdao and Sohar will be shifted to CIMEX3, alongside Ningbo, Shekou, Colombo, Fujairah, and Singapore. The changes will extend CIMEX3's turnaround time from seven to eight weeks. Shipping consultancy Linerlytica said that, while port congestion in China was gradually easing from recent peaks, the disruptions in South-east Asia are at record levels, now accounting for 11% of global port congestion, while 45% is in North Asia. A month ago, port congestion in the south-east was 7% of the global total, while North Asia accounted for half. Long vessels queues in Singapore have caused even e-commerce merchants to advise customers of week-long delays. Pinduoduo, a sister unit of Temu, has had to keep amending the estimated arrival time of customers' goods as vessels wait to berth. PDD, the holding company of Temu and Pinduoduo, did not respond to requests for comment, although The Loadstar was shown an update sent to a customer that showed their shipment, due to arrive on 16 September, was delayed as the ship could only berth yesterday.

DSV expands pharma offering in South Korea

DSV has continued the expansion of its Air ThermoDirect service with the addition of a new facility at Incheon Airport. The new facility offers more than 2,000 sq m of 2-8°C storage capacity, direct tarmac access and is GDP-compliant. The Denmark-headquartered forwarder said the addition reflects South Korea's increasingly important role in global healthcare supply chains, strong healthcare manufacturing base and growing export volumes. DSV's Air ThermoDirect service connects dedicated air capacity, end-to-end visibility and reusable thermal packaging solutions. Kenneth Kallström, executive vice president, global enterprise vertical head, healthcare, said: "By expanding Air ThermoDirect into Korea through Incheon, we are connecting two of the world's most important healthcare and life sciences markets with one of Asia's leading pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical hubs. "This investment strengthens the resilience, visibility and control that healthcare customers increasingly need across global supply chains." The addition of the new facility is the second development for the forwarder's pharma air operation in recent weeks. Earlier in September, the company expanded the Air ThermoDirect to include flights between Luxembourg and Shanghai Pudong. The new connection will utilise Eastern Air Logistics' (EAL) specialised ground handling facilities in Shanghai and is further strengthened by ground handling agent partner China Eastern Logistics Cold Chain, which will provide "dedicated cold chain expertise and infrastructure". The company also plans to add a link between Indianapolis International Airport and Shanghai in the future.

'Book earlier' on LatAm-Europe trades as disruptions continue

Forwarders are urging those engaged in trade between Europe and Latin America to "book earlier", amid issues of availability and port congestion on both sides of the tradelane - albeit with little of this playing out in the present shape of rates. According to Container Trades Statistics (CTS), after a difficult start to the year LatAm-bound European volumes have recorded steady increases. July (CTS reports two months in arrears) having seen a year-on-year volume jump of 2.3%. A source active on the trade told The Loadstar "exchange rates, financing costs, and industrial investment" across Latin America was making itself felt on freight flows up and down the continent. Volumes in the opposite direction showed a growing slowdown, hitting just 2.4% year on year for July, after a June bounce of 15.1%, which followed an uptick of 10.7% in May. A Brazilian forwarder told The Loadstar that the region had been contending with port congestion, - as has been true for much of Europe this year - while carrier schedule changes were also causing headaches. While there had been little change in rates, amid an upturn in surcharges, the forwarder warned that issues across ports on both sides of the trade were feeding into costs they were able to quote customers, and warned that further pressures could be expected. "All of this can increase the final bill," the forwarder said, adding that ,for shippers, "the priority is to book earlier, check alternative sailings, and allow realistic delivery windows. Pharma and other temperature-sensitive shipments also require reliable handling and contingency plans". Interestingly, two of those The Loadstar spoke to questioned the logic of a LatAm-Europe tradelane, one noting: "Demand, rates, and operational risks can differ significantly between countries, ports, and cargo segments. These differences matter when planning bookings and negotiating contracts."