Chinese New Year

Will shippers pull forward freight to avoid East Coast port labor disputes?

The air cargo market has certainly turned around from the depths of last summer, but the extraordinary increase in January volumes should be taken with a grain of salt. Conditions are improving, but short-term factors inflated the January numbers.

Christopher Thornycroft, executive vice president at Redwood, joined us to talk about the Lunar New Year and what it means for freight demand. For those unaware, the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday began Jan. 22 and typically lasts two weeks. This year, it will end with the Lantern Festival on Sunday.

China’s biggest holiday used to have a dramatic impact on U.S. transportation and the flow of goods. Now it seems more of an afterthought.

Thanks to COVID, there are no seasonal highs and lows for international shipping. There is so much demand for goods that the peak season never seems to end — and ports, railroads, truckers and warehouses are reaching the breaking point.

China’s latest maritime measure to control the spread of the coronavirus will add to the clog of containers at ports.

Steve Ferreira discusses the “rocket-powered” ocean freight market ahead of Chinese New Year.

CEO Jim Newsome optimistic about economic recovery in 2021.

“As long as there continues to be a lack of cargo and documentation handling in the ports due to the virus, our exporters and importers shouldn’t be on the hook for per diem or demurrage charges,” AgTC Executive Director Peter Friedmann said.

The Wuhan coronavirus has forced several Chinese cities into a state of lockdown, severely affecting manufacturing hubs and constricting global supply chains.

So far this February has been what we would expect. Does the normally slow month have any surprises up its sleeves?

Volumes and capacity remain flat through the first week of February. Has the freight market weathered the slowest part of the year?

For months, West Coast spot rates have been softening, allowing brokers to take big margins and shippers to move freight inexpensively, with short lead times. That’s about to change.

2018’s unusually late Chinese New Year means that port traffic will normalize and then accelerate for pre-summer shipments at the same time as California’s March harvests, causing a truckload capacity crunch.

While the holiday rush starts in North America a few weeks before Thanksgiving, there is a holiday rush going on already in China as well, and it impacts shipping.