....MUCH MORE
Ocean carriers have withdrawn more than 1.67m teu of export capacity from China since the lunar new year holiday, according to an Alphaliner survey.
Based on an average freight rate of $1,000 per teu, the cumulative revenue lost to the carriers will have exceeded $1.5bn, putting some of the less-financially secure container lines at risk.
And with a significant link in the supply chain broken, manufacturers worldwide face lengthy shutdowns due to a lack of vital components .
Planned blank sailings post-Chinese new year and a mass of last-minute cancellations, as production and container transport came to a near standstill in the coronavirus outbreak, has resulted in an “unprecedented” level of tonnage being withdrawn, said the consultant.
lphaliner’s survey reveals 33 sailings from Asia to North Europe have been withdrawn in the past four weeks, representing 46% of scheduled departures, with a further 17 voyages due to be pulled in the coming weeks.
This would take capacity withdrawn on the tradelane to some 700,000 teu over the eight-week period following CNY.
“A significantly deeper cut than in previous years and it compares with post-CNY cuts of just 340,000 teu in 2019 and 210,000 teu in 2018,” said Alphaliner....
And February 14:
Container shipping ex-China grinding to a halt – carriers 'can’t carry on much longer'
Now everyone is looking for a dramatic snap-back in volumes, beginning with air freight but if it doesn't materialize in say, 2 - 4 weeks it will be lost for good.
