Grab high freight rates! Shipping giants are buying, chartering ships at sky-high prices
Freight rates are still rising, and shipping giants have been more active than ever in the charter market, paying sky-high rents to grab capacity in response to tighter shipping demand and the upcoming peak season. According to Alphaliner's latest news, Maersk recently leased a new 7,000TEU vessel from Desxiang Shipping at a daily rental rate of up to $150,000 for 3 months and is expected to be delivered in October. This is the highest daily rental rate ever recorded for this type of vessel. Giants such as Mediterranean Shipping and CMA CGM are also rushing to charter ships.
It is worth noting that this high-priced charter deal comes just days to half a month after CMA CGM chartered a new vessel of the same 7,000 TEU from Desxiang Shipping. Cma CGM was paying $105,000 a day for the same three-month lease. In such a short period of time, daily rental rates have soared by 46%, showing the dramatic increase in charter rates in the shipping market.
Industry analysts believe that the behavior of shipping giants to hit the sky-high rent to grab ships, on the one hand, reflects the current situation of shipping market ships tight, on the other hand, also shows the shipping industry's optimistic expectations of future market trends. Especially with the arrival of the traditional European and American peak season in the third quarter, the market demand for ships will further increase, and shipping companies are willing to pay a higher price to lease ships in order to maintain the supply of shipping capacity.
Desxiang Shipping, as a shipowner, has also benefited greatly from this chartering boom. Since the beginning of this year, Desxiang Shipping has delivered 4 new ships of 7,000 TEU, of which 2 ships are configured for the Desxiang Far East - India route, and the other 2 ships are leased to CMA CGM at high prices of $80,000 and $105,000 per day respectively. It is understood that Desxiang Shipping is expected to deliver a new ship before the end of the year.
The significance of the soaring spot prices in Europe and the United States, driving the daily rental of the charter market back to 6 figures includes: First, the shipping operators to earn a wave of high rent, short charter period charters, and CMA's move means that at least the next three months market. According to Alphliner statistics, Maersk, CMA, COsco Shipping and other companies have more than 300 charter vessels. Maersk has said it will charter ships to meet demand as the Red Sea crisis forces ships to divert and drain capacity. Second, small boats return to long-distance routes to grab high freight rates, not only big carriers, many small and medium-sized shipping companies also grab the western line, the European line; Third, shipping operators have added new routes, requiring more ship support.
Freight forwarding industry sources revealed that CMA CGM Shipping company plans to launch seven 7,000 TEU medium-sized vessels from June 30 to early September to open up a new Asia-Europe route. Cma CGM said the seasonal route was set up in response to a surge in demand from Asia to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
At the same time, shipping companies have also made adjustments in route selection. On long-haul routes such as Asia to Europe and Asia to the Americas, large carriers usually rely on large ships of 10,000 TEU class. However, due to the shortage of capacity and soaring freight rates during the epidemic, some small and medium-sized ships have also joined the ranks of long-haul routes, hoping to get a piece of the pie. However, with the collapse of freight rates, these ships have been withdrawn from the market. Now, as the market picks up, small and medium-sized ships are again appearing in the competition for long-haul routes.
For example, Sealead Shipping plans to open direct routes from China and South Korea to the West of the United States, while Boya Shipping has restarted routes from the mainland to Mexico in South America, and these new routes will use 1800TEU vessels.
Major carriers are also actively expanding their route networks to cope with the high-rate market environment. Mediterranean Shipping restarted a route between East Asia and West America in early July, while COSCO Shipping will also launch a US-West Express line, connecting to ports such as Kaohsiung and Xiamen.
Charter rates in the current shipping market have reached a record high, and shipping giants are paying sky-high rents to grab market capacity to cope with the increasingly tight shipping demand and the upcoming peak season. At the same time, shipowners have also gained rich profits in this process. However, with the constantly changing market conditions, the future trend of the shipping market is still full of uncertainty.
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