Week 19 Freight Updates

There’s more data showing that things are still tough for ocean freight shipping. It appears rollover rates are rising and it’s putting even more stress on global supply chains. So, while problems like the Suez Canal (including the yet-to-be-resolved insurance claim) and how hard it is to find space on ships gets most of the attention, increasing rollover rates are just one more indication of how difficult things continue to be for shippers.

Speaking of bad situations, a ransomware attack has shut down a key east coast fuel pipeline. The situation is very fluid at this point, but it’s possible there will continue to be upward pressure on fuel costs in the short term. And on a fuel-related note, it seems things have gotten so good from the carriers’ perspectives that slow steaming is losing favor with one report noting how “containership speeds had increased by 5.5% since last June to 14.76 knots, and by 8.5% in the larger sectors.”

Two more things working against shippers are that retail importers’ forecasts are going up, which will further strain capacity. Also, facing upward pressure are air rates due to high demand. “The IHS Purchasing Managers’ Index for the U.S. reached 63.7 before ticking down last week, showing the steepest expansion for the manufacturing sector since 2007.”

To read the details behind these stories and catch up on the week’s top news, check out the links below:

Rising rollover rates show worsening maritime supply chain delays

Data from ports across the world collected by project44 shows that the percentage of containers missing their scheduled sailing is still rising, with some major carriers and ports posting rollover rates over 50% for the month of April.

Insurer of ship that blocked Suez Canal says reduced claim still high

UK Club, an insurer of the container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March, said on Monday a reduced compensation claim made by the Egyptian authorities for almost $600 million to free the vessel and cover related losses was still “exceptionally large”.

Tanker rate boost from pipeline cyberattack could be fleeting

Bad news — accidents, war, extreme weather — is generally good news for commodity shipping. Case in point: Product tanker stocks, rates and futures jumped Monday in the wake of the cyberattack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline.

Containerships Increasing Speeds as Rates Continue to Climb

Maritime valuation and market intelligence service says average laden containership speeds had increased by 5.5% since last June to 14.76 knots, and by 8.5% in the larger sectors.

US retailers’ upgraded import forecast signals stronger shipping pressures

US retailers are upping their forecast for imports in the coming months, suggesting that shippers who are already struggling to secure vessel capacity in Asia will find it even more difficult, and ports on the US West and East coasts could face increasing congestion leading into the summer-fall peak shipping season.

Companies in desperate hunt for aircraft to move cargo

The airfreight market is so saturated that companies without precommitments, or the stomach to pay premiums, are having difficulty finding aircraft to move their goods.

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