Did the freight rate go down after the holiday? The data show that there is a high probability that sea freight will remain high.

The sea carrier is determined to keep the spot freight rate of containers at a high level for as long as possible and expects to lock in annual contract customers at a rate of 100% or higher.

There is no sign of a significant decline in spot prices after the start of the Chinese Spring Festival. Shippers who hope that freight rates can be adjusted back after the Spring Festival now have to agree to higher contract prices instead of continuing to take risks in the spot market.

Commenting on the severe market situation facing shippers, Gordon Downs (Gordon Downes), chief executive of (NewYork Shipping Exchange), a digital contract platform, said he did not think rates would fall "within a few years" after the novel coronavirus epidemic. "in fact, I think the industry is at the beginning of a structural upward cycle." He added.

On February 19th the latest Baltic freight index (FBX) spot freight rates from Asia to northern Europe rose 3 per cent from the previous week to $8430 per 40 feet, up 145 per cent from early December and 428 per cent from the same period last year.

In addition, spot shippers have to pay a large number of additional fees, including container storage and express bookings, with British importers paying an average of $2000 per carton-what some carriers privately call an "departure surcharge".

"the current strategy of shipping companies is to accept booking based on profitability or long-term strategic importance, and small and medium-sized shippers are being sacrificed as a result," (Toto Dirgantoro), chairman of the (Asianshippers'Alliance) of the Asian shippers Union, complained this week.

Although there is a shortage of transport due to the quarantine of domestic trailer drivers before the Spring Festival, it is clear that transport companies still have a large backlog of goods to clear before starting to chase orders.

A British forwarder said angrily a few days ago that the "2m" alliance cancelled MSC Erica's sailing plan on Sunday at the last minute, "more to keep capacity tight than to improve the reliability of shipping schedule".

In addition, spot prices at ports from Asia to the eastern Mediterranean rose 3 per cent this week to $7893 per 40 feet, up 270 per cent from 12 months ago, according to FBX. The daily freight rate reached 7969 US dollars on February 19th.

According to the data released by the latest issue of the Shanghai Shipping Exchange on February 19, the composite index of Shanghai export containers was 2875.93, up 1.8% from the previous period.

The market freight rate (shipping and maritime surcharge) from SCFI: Shanghai to the European base port is US $4281 / TEU, up 4.2 per cent from the previous period. Due to the decline in the volume of goods during the Spring Festival, the market freight rate of the Mediterranean route fell slightly, to the Mediterranean basic port market freight rate (maritime and maritime surcharge) was 4252 US dollars / TEU, down 0.7% from the previous period. North American route market freight rates remain near the previous level.

On the same hot trans-Pacific trade route, demand for capacity from Asia to the United States is inevitable: according to data from the Los Angeles port Signal signal platform on the 19th, ships arriving this week were carrying 185000 TEU of imports, an increase of 331% over the same period last year.

However, container ships moored in Los Angeles and long Beach have to wait an average of 8.3 days to unload, up from the previous 8.0 days; it is reported that 35-40 ships are moored at Anchorage every day, so carriers are looking for other ports.

After weeks of stagnation, spot rates from Asia to the west coast of the US hit a new record of $4654 per 40 feet last week, up 7 per cent from the previous week, according to FBX. The daily freight rate reached a record $4709 on February 19th.

East coast ports also rebounded after a brief decline, reaching $5703 per 40 feet (weeks) in the past week-up 8.0% from the previous week; daily rates reached $5960 on February 19th.

"persistent peaks and congestion have led some US retailers to worry that Easter-related shipments will not arrive in time, while shipping companies report that all ships are fully booked by the end of the month," said JudahLevine, head of Freightos research.