Going through the peak period, container shipping rates from Vietnam to the US showed signs of decreasing in the last months of the year. However, some shipping lines apply port congestion charges, causing businesses to still have to bear large costs.
According to the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), from the second half of last year up to now, sea freight rates to the US have increased dramatically due to the shortage of containers and supply chain disruptions, making the profits of the shipping companies worse. loss of import and export enterprises.
The proportion of goods exported to the US market always accounts for 28 – 30% of the total export turnover.
Going through the peak period, container shipping rates from Vietnam to the US showed signs of decreasing in the last months of the year.
Exchange with Traffic Newspaper, a representative of TNN Logistics said that currently, the freight rate for shipping containers to the US by sea has reversed.
“If the peak is July-August, the 40-foot container freight rate to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (USA) is about 18,000 USD, now, the freight rate is reduced to 12,000 – 13,000 USD/container,” he said.
Similarly, a representative of Son Ha Spices Company said that the actual freight rate from October has decreased by about 10%.
Freight rates to the US have shown signs of a slight decrease. (Photo: MSC)
The reason for this price adjustment is that the demand for consumer goods and raw materials for Christmas and the year-end in the US has been met relatively, and the demand for transportation is no longer hot.
The situation of port congestion in the US still occurs, but the number of ships waiting to dock at the port for exploitation is no longer as high as before, the turnaround speed of the fleet is faster, so the shortage of ships is gradually improving.
However, shipping lines MSC and Zim said they would charge an additional “port congestion fee” of more than $1,100 per 40-foot container.
“If the company cannot negotiate with the partner, the company has to pay this additional fee. In case of having to pay an additional fee, the reduced freight rate for businesses is not much,” said this representative.
In the coming time, industry associations will review and collect the export demand of goods of shippers and represent shippers to sign contracts with shipping lines to get the most stable freight rates.
At the same time, the Vietnam Maritime Administration requires shipping lines and all forwarding/forwarder agents to list the applicable transport service prices for information transparency, avoiding the situation of “inflating prices, making prices”. advantages over difficulties of goods owners.
According to VietnamBiz.vn
