Prime Freight’s summary of a November 2020 report by The Loadstar. Read the original for the full story.
In November 2020 container lines added a wave of peak-season and congestion surcharges on Asian trade lanes, as an equipment shortage spread from east–west routes into intra-Asia trades.
Alphaliner expected SCFI spot rates for Chinese exports to keep rising because of surcharges and higher December FAK rates. CMA CGM announced a $500 per TEU peak-season surcharge from Asia to the Mediterranean and North Africa, and Hapag-Lloyd added $500 per TEU and $1,000 per FEU on China–intra-Asia cargo for December. A shortage of 40ft containers drove Shanghai–Singapore spot rates from about $170 per TEU to over $800 in a few weeks. MSC and CMA CGM also added congestion surcharges on cargo from Europe, and Covid testing of reefer cargo in Tianjin led to import surcharges there.
Kuehne + Nagel said 15 ships were waiting off Los Angeles/Long Beach, terminals were at their limits and Asia urgently needed empty containers, which was unlikely to change before Chinese New Year. Forwarders accused carriers of worsening the shortage through earlier blank sailings and by sending boxes to the most profitable trades.
What it meant for shippers
In a capacity crunch, surcharges can change faster than base rates, so the all-in price matters more than the headline rate. Booking early and confirming which surcharges apply on the sailing date limits surprises.