The Journal of Commerce reports that “Container lines are blanking at least 37 eastbound trans-Pacific sailings this month and next and canceling a weekly service to the US East Coast as spot rates fell for the fifth straight week and a moderate peak season ends.
Carriers have announced 29 blank sailings for October, eight in November, and the cancellation of a weekly service from Asia to the US East Coast from November until March. Carrier and shipper sources told JOC.com they expect that THE Alliance’s customer advisory on suspension of the EC3 service from Central and South China to Savannah, Jacksonville, and Norfolk will be followed by announcements from the Ocean and 2M alliances of suspended services. The suspension of services during the slack winter months is standard in the eastbound trans-Pacific… However, capacity reductions will be greater than usual this year because carriers will blank dozens of sailings in addition to suspending weekly vessel strings.”
“Carriers this fall have been unable to stop the decline in freight rates in what should be the busiest time of the year. The spot rate to the West Coast on Friday was $1,313 per FEU — the rate from Shanghai to L.A. has slipped each week since peaking at $1,615 on Aug. 30. The East Coast rate last week was $2,335 per FEU, also down five consecutive weeks from $2,691 on Aug. 30, according to the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) published on the JOC.com Shipping & Logistics Pricing Hub.”