Global Shipping Market Has Performed Well Recently, with Shanghai Ports Seeing A Peak in Shipments

SHANGHAI, Jun 8 (SMM) - The global shipping market has performed brilliantly recently, and shipping rates have soared.

In terms of the container market, Du Bingqin, an analyst at Everbright Futures, said that as European and American retailers gradually start purchasing goods during the second half of the school season and related holidays, the global container market is about to enter the peak shipping season. In order to avoid last year's port supply chain blockage and container shortages, major ship operators actively ordered containers and new ships this year to increase their shipping capacity. Judging from the current situation, due to limited port efficiency, several important ports including the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach in the United States are still showing signs of container congestion; although the container freight rate has decreased when compared with last year, it is still at a high level and has not returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

In the domestic container market, with the full recovery of the Shanghai port freight chain, the domestic container market also ushered in a peak in shipment. At present, the daily container throughput of Shanghai Port has recovered to more than 95% of the normal level. The shortage of shipping capacity has also caused the freight rate of related routes to rise sharply. Some people in the shipping industry said that as Shanghai entered the stage of full resumption of work and production, the shipments soared and freight rate has risen sharply. The current business chain is more efficient and ports are busier.

It is worth mentioning that the LNG tanker market is also very hot recently. Du Bingqin said that due to the restriction of Russian natural gas exports, Europe needs to import LNG spot goods from the United States and the Middle East by sea, which has driven the recent increase in the price of natural gas in the United States and the freight rate of LNG tankers. "Summer is the traditional natural gas replenishment season in Europe. The energy crisis and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have led to a shortage of natural gas supply in the European natural gas market. This has also made Europe's demand for LNG imports and LNG shipping capacity in the United States and other places extra prominent this summer. Traders are scrambling to order LNG tankers ahead of the peak season, with freight rates near 10-year highs and new orders for LNG tankers hitting record highs.” She expects LNG capacity shortages to intensify as summer approaches, and freight rates to remain high.