China Australia Trade Lane Market Update May/June 2023
In the last week of May 2023, we saw vessels fully booked to their capacity, due to this overbooking many containers have been rolled to the first week of June departure instead.
There were some notable movements made after Labour Day or the Golden week holidays in China in May. A total of 6 sailing services were completely canceled as per below table.
| CARRIER | SERVICE | ETD SHANGHAI | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSL/PIL/YML/SEALED | CAT | 7-May | BLANK SAILING |
| ZIM | CAX(GA1) | 10-May | BLANK SAILING |
| TSL/PIL/YML/SEALED | CA2(SAE) | 14-May | BLANK SAILING |
| HMM/EMC/ONE | A1X(AUE) | 15-May | BLANK SAILING |
| TSL/PIL/YML/SEALEAD | CAT | 21-May | BLANK SAILING |
| COSCO/OOCL/ANL | A3N | 22-May | BLANK SAILING |
In June, so far there are 4 sailings canceled, as per below.
The number of vessel sailings canceled is less, however the capacity of these vessels combined are greater than May cancellations overall. For example, one A3C vessel being pulled out of the water equals 3 times the capacity of any other vessel for the China to Australia trade lane.
| CARRIER | SERVICE | ETD SHANGHAI | SERVICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZIM | CAX(GA1) | 3-Jun | CONFIRMED CANCELLED |
| ZIM | CAX(GA1) | 7-Jun | CONFIRMED CANCELLED |
| COSCO/OOCL/ANL/PIL | A3C | 25-Jun | CONFIRMED CANCELLED |
| PIL/YML/SNL/TSL | CAT | 25-Jun | SLIDE A WEEK AND PUSH TO JULY |
Some carriers such as COSCO, ANL and ZIM have all begun introducing a Rate Restoration Surcharge from Northeast Asia to Australia effective May 21, 2023. In a bid to embrace the peak season that will be happening in the middle of July or latest early August, adjustment will likely be based on vessel size and the structuring of their service system.
Despite the lowered space allocations, most Ocean Freight rates remain the same such as Shenzhen and Xiamen and the rest are only increased very slightly such as Shanghai and Ningbo.
For more information and updates on the current market conditions, please contact the McHugh and Eastwood team.
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