Typhoon-related port congestion keeps intra

War and weather continue to limit intra-Asia capacity and keep rates high The intra-Asia container freight market strengthened for a third consecutive week as unrest in the ... GXO: AMAZON RELATIONSHIP ON THE RADARGXO: WITH REGARD TO AMAZON RISK GXO: AMAZON RIVALRY INSIGHTAMZN: SUCCESSFUL BOND OFFERINGFDX: AI EDGEFDX: CEO ON AI BENEFITS FDX: MORE ABOUT AI UPSIDEFDX: AI POWER RULESFDX: 'GLOBAL TRADE NAVIGATOR' LAUNCHED FDX: MARKETING PUSHMAERSK: RECENT RALLY WAS NOT ENOUGH DSV: NEW LOW FOR THE YEAR DSV: FLIRTING WITH NEW LOWS GXO: AMAZON RELATIONSHIP ON THE RADARGXO: WITH REGARD TO AMAZON RISK GXO: AMAZON RIVALRY INSIGHTAMZN: SUCCESSFUL BOND OFFERINGFDX: AI EDGEFDX: CEO ON AI BENEFITS FDX: MORE ABOUT AI UPSIDEFDX: AI POWER RULESFDX: 'GLOBAL TRADE NAVIGATOR' LAUNCHED FDX: MARKETING PUSHMAERSK: RECENT RALLY WAS NOT ENOUGH DSV: NEW LOW FOR THE YEAR DSV: FLIRTING WITH NEW LOWS Intra-Asia freight rates rose for the fifth straight week as typhoon-related congestion in China and bottlenecks in transhipment ports Busan, Hong Kong, and Singapore tied up vessel supply. On 3 September, the Drewry Intra-Asia Container Index (IACI) climbed 9% from 27 August, to $1,312 per 40ft, as typhoon-related port disruption tightened available capacity across key Asian trades. Drewry said: “Spot freight rates from China to South-east Asia and South Asia strengthened further this week as Typhoon Saudel disrupted port operations. Shanghai and Ningbo were closed from 26–28 August, adding to congestion that has built following a series of recent typhoons, including Bavi, Noul, Dolphin, and Narra.” The operational impact was reflected in vessel waiting times. In Week 35, average waiting times hit 98 hours in Shanghai and 54 hours in Ningbo. Rates on several major intra-Asia routes rose sharply. Shanghai–Busan increased 30%, to $925 per 40ft, while Shanghai–Laem Chabang climbed 28%, to $1,310 per 40ft. Ongoing geopolitical tension in the Middle East also provided upward support, with Shanghai–Jebel Ali rates increasing 6% to $8,254 per 40ft. These trends were mirrored in the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index on 4 September, with the Shanghai-South-east Asia rate up 12% from 28 August, to $893 per teu, and the Shanghai-Busan rate gaining 7%, to $248 per teu. Disrupted berthing schedules in China cascaded to the major transhipment hubs, including Busan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, causing more delays to shippers. With weather-related interruptions and port congestion persisting, Drewry expects freight rates to rise further in the coming weeks. There were also network changes among regional carriers. Japanese operator Kambara Kisen will revise its NK1 service from 22 September, replacing Otaru with Sapporo, on a revised three-week rotation with three 1,091 teu vessels calling at Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Toyama, Niigata, Sapporo, Kanazawa, and Dalian. Rising bunker prices will also add upward pressure to intra-Asia freight rates. The Baltic Exchange yesterday showed very-low sulphur fuel oil prices went up around $30 from last month, to around $850 per tonne, while prices of high-sulphur fuel oil were up around $50, to roughly $660 per tonne, in Singapore and Zhoushan ports. For uninterrupted access, sign in or sign up to The Daily News, Premium or The Loadstar Enterprise Plan. Comment on this article