This year has seen massive disruption to Asia supply chains and spiralling rates, caused largely by the rerouting of ocean freight services around the Cape Of Good Hope. However, there has finally been a glimmer of hope that things may be improving.
Space on vessels has been critically low for months, but some Asia origin services have shown signs of capacity improvements in the past month. In turn, ocean freight rates seem to have passed their peak and in some cases spot rates have even come down.
We are not out of the woods by any means, port congestion at several Asian ports continues and sailing schedules remaining unreliable. There are also still equipment shortages at some origin points and manufacturers have effectively sold out new containers until October.
The Asia market is always volatile, swinging one way and then the other frequently. Therefore, we are not suggesting that the recent developments will lead towards more normal conditions just yet.
However, we will have a better idea how things lie after the traditional peak season ends, after China’s Golden Week in October. Should the recent trend continue, then fingers crossed that we can approach next year with more optimism.
