Sea freight rates are ‘cooling down’ as the global supply chain is less tense. According to businesses, freight rates from Vietnam to the US, Europe… have decreased by 30-40% compared to the peak price in 2021
According to many logistics enterprises, sea freight rates are “cooling down”, the difficulty of ordering ships and the scarcity of empty containers has been reduced, not as stressful as before.
If in 2 years of 2020-2021 epidemic, the freight rates escalate, by mid-July 2022, the freight has “changed direction”. The price of renting a 40-foot container from Vietnam to the US was up to 21,000 USD at one time, but now it is about 8,000 – 11,000 USD.
Ms. Lam Thi Thanh Bong – Director of Karl Gross Logistics Vietnam – said that the company’s recent orders to move goods from Vietnam to Europe cost 5,000-8,000 USD/container. This price has decreased compared to 2021 when the price of a container is up to 10,000 USD.
Ms. Bong acknowledged that the demand for goods at the end of the year is higher, but the increase or decrease in freight rates depends on the world situation, including China’s epidemic prevention policy. Although freight rates have decreased, they have not yet returned to normal levels as before the epidemic.
However, Mr. Nguyen Tuong – senior advisor of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association – said that the freight rates have decreased but are still high compared to the time before the epidemic. Most of Vietnam’s exports go by sea, so high anchorage rates will put pressure on businesses in the second half of the year.
Many logistics enterprises believe that this year’s transportation market is expected to grow strongly, opening up many opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to participate in the international shipping fleet.
Mr. Pham Viet Anh – Chairman of PetroVietnam Transportation Corporation (PVTrans) – said that the epidemic is under control, but the conflict between Russia – Ukraine and China’s blockade has impacted the supply chain. Previously, Russia exported oil directly to Europe, now it exports to Asia and India. European countries have to import oil from the US.
In the event that an economic recession occurs by 2023, Mr. Viet Anh believes that the shipping market will not be significantly affected, ships will operate more nautical miles. Not to mention, the construction of new ships is limited due to the increase in steel prices, many units focus on building container ships, making the supply of ships less.
PVTrans’s freight rate is currently about 8,000 – 9,000 USD/day, now it can be 13,000 -14,000 USD/day. MR ships are from about 13,000 USD/day to 17,000 – 18,000 USD/day, crude oil tankers from 10,000 USD/day to 20,000 – 25,000 USD/day. Mr. Viet Anh said that if the freight rates were to decrease, they would not be able to reduce as much as before. It is expected that PVTrans will invest in buying 7 – 10 ships.
Similarly, Hai An Transport and Handling Company said that it has invested in 2 new container ships, bringing the total fleet to 9 and building 2 more Bangkok Mark IV (1,800 TEU) container ships, with a total amount of money. Initial investment is about 81 million USD. The goal to maintain domestic flights at 5 per week, expand Hong Kong and Singapore routes…
T&G Import-Export Joint Stock Company
Address: 352 Hue Street, Le Dai Hanh Ward, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi
Hotline: 02473010868
Email: hrm@tginterjsc.com
Website: http://tgimportexport.com
