Freight Market Update: September 27, 2023

Flexport

Published Sep 28, 2023

Updates from the global supply chain and logistics world | September 27, 2023

Trends to Watch

[Ocean - TPEB] Blank sailings will continue impacting available capacity and schedules between now and the end of Golden Week (Oct. 8), while the weight restrictions that remain in place for vessels transiting the Panama Canal have not caused a noticeable increase in transit times.
[Ocean - FEWB] Rates are dropping due to soft demand and the impacts of the upcoming Golden Week holiday. More blank sailings have been announced, carriers will reassess demand after the holiday before making more such announcements. Demand on the Mediterranean trade has softened to nearly the same level as N. Europe.
[Regional - U.S. Exports] TPWB is seeing blank sailings related to the upcoming Golden Week holiday in Asia. TAEB has widely available capacity, correspondingly low rates based on port lanes, and will also likely see service reductions as a result of the holiday. Some inland rail ramps are low on equipment due to lower than anticipated import volumes.
[Ocean - TAWB] While there is talk of further blanked sailings and capacity withdrawal, the only confirmations thus far have come from Ocean Alliance and 2M. The overall situation on this trade remains unstable with demand not picking up enough for sailings to be 100% full.
[Air - Asia] Shenzhen airport is promoting the upcoming construction of a “digital express logistics park” and working with Chinese customs officials to digitize the express mail process in response to the rapid growth of cross-border ecommerce volumes.

Please reach out to your account representative for details on any impacts to your shipments.

North America Vessel Dwell Times

For more details, please visit Flexport’s Ocean Timeliness and Air Timeliness indicator pages.

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Read more news summaries like this in our weekly Supply Chain Snapshots