How to choose the FBA head journey

Buyers will be more inclined to products shipped by Amazon FBA, and sellers who choose FBA will increase the cost, and the cost will naturally be included in the product price. Whether logistics channels can be reasonably optimized has also become a key link in the product pricing market, affecting sales. Many sellers may have encountered a similar situation. Other sellers of the same product suddenly dropped their price, and the price was still greatly reduced. It's not the kind of activity that can go on for a long time. In this case, that's not the case. Loss in exchange for orders is likely to optimize logistics channels. Regarding FBA logistics channels, there are still many choices. You can choose according to your situation, so as to reduce the price of the product and win the price war.

1. Establish a FBA warehousing plan

If your product is already an FBA listing, all you have to do now is click Send Inventory; but if your product is still Merchant-Fulfilled (self-delivery), you need to change the product to FBA listing first; if you don't If you know if you need to change it, after selecting Send Inventory, Amazon will also prompt you to change it or not.

2. Prepare the products that will pass the FBA first journey (Prepare Products)

Every product that passes through the FBA first journey must be packaged as required, most of which can be packed in cartons, but some categories of products need to be packed in sealed plastic bags to avoid damage during transportation, or allow Dust runs in. At the same time, each product must be affixed with a UPC barcode (if it has joined the Amazon Brand Registry).

3.Review Shipment

Before this step, Amazon will provide the FBA warehouse address you should enter the warehouse, usually three, but sending to three warehouses will increase our logistics cost. If you do not want to enter so many warehouses, you can set the target warehouse.

4. Ready to send

If you choose a truck company for logistics, if you use express delivery, it is recommended to use UPS or FedEx, which is cooperated by Amazon. Amazon will provide a great logistics discount. Here you need to provide information on the contents, or you Does not provide direct sorting by Amazon (processing fee applies)

For example, if you have 10 boxes to be put into the warehouse, then you need to fill in one by one, which products are in each box, as well as the size and weight of each box, then you can calculate the payment to Amazon for this FBA head trip. cost of;

Next, you have 24 hours to cancel the first FBA trip. Amazon will automatically refund to your account. After the Amazon FBA warehouse receives the goods, you can check the relevant information on the inventory page in the background.

How to choose a reliable FBA first-way logistics?

FBA can provide express, air, sea, customs clearance, labeling, warehousing and other logistics services. At the same time, FBA can also provide different channel transportation methods such as double-clearance tax declaration by sea and double-clearance tax declaration by air. Sellers need to choose according to their own products, services and storage time.

When we choose the FBA Toucheng logistics company, we must first consider the dedicated line channel. From domestic delivery to the United States, it only takes about 13 days to arrive at the western port of the United States, which greatly shortens the sea transportation time. Generally, it can be signed and put on sale in about 18 days.

Logistics is very important for cross-border sellers. If you choose a bad FBA head-way logistics company, you may encounter the situation that the products cannot be put into the warehouse on time, the store is out of stock, or even the goods are lost. Therefore, we need a professional FBA head-way logistics company to ensure the timeliness and safety of our goods.

The above is about what Amazon's FBA first journey service is and how to choose a reliable FBA first journey logistics.

U.S. imposes sanctions on Russian state-owned shipbuilders

The "Bucha Massacre" has become an important turning point in the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. Recently, the United States launched a new round of sanctions against Russia, targeting large strategic state-owned enterprises. Russia's largest state-owned shipbuilding company, United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), and its executives have become the latest "victims" on the sanctions list.

Washington, April 8. /TASS/. The U.S. government has imposed sanctions on eight board members and 28 subsidiaries of Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation.

The U.S. Treasury Department describes USC as "the principal Russian state-owned enterprise (SOE) responsible for the development and construction of Russian Navy warships."

The USC officials who were blacklisted were USC Board of Regents Chair Georgy Poltavchenko and CEO Alexey Rakhmanov. Other blacklisted board members include Andrey Lavrishchev, head of the Federal Service for Maritime Affairs and River Transport, Vitaly Markelov, deputy chairman of the Gazprom Management Board, Vladimir Pospelov, board member of the Russian Federal Military-Industrial Council, and deputy minister of industry and trade, Russian Federation Fisheries Minister Oleg Ryazantsev, Federal Fisheries Director Ilya Shestakov and JSC Rosneft Vice President Andrey Shishkin.

According to the statement, the 28 subsidiaries included in the sanctions list include:

1. JSC 33 shipyard, specializing in warship maintenance;
2. JSC Admiralty Shipyards, which builds warships and submarines;
3. The Baltic Shipyard, which builds naval ships;
4. Vyborg Shipyard, participating in the construction of icebreakers;
5. Shipbuilding Plant Severnaya Verf, which builds guided missile cruisers, anti-submarine and torpedo boats, and destroyers;
6. Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard, specializing in the construction of warships;
7. Severnoe Design Bureau, involved in projects related to frigates and destroyers;
8. Nevskoe Design Bureau, which designs warships, including aircraft carriers;
9. Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau, which designs fast missiles and patrol ships;
10. Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard, which produces military ships, including submarines;
11. Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering Rubin, which designs submarines and conducts other Russian defense activities;
12. Research Design and Technological Bureau Onega, which provides engineering and design support for Russian Navy submarines;
13. St. Petersburg’s Sea Bureau of Mechanical Engineering Malachite, designed submarines;
14. 10 Ordena Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni Dockyard, participating in ship repair activities;
15. Baltic Shipbuilding Plant Yantar, engaged in the construction of military ships;
16. Amursky Shipbuilding Plant, engaged in submarine construction and manufacture of weapons and defense products;
17. Ship Repair Center Zvezdochka, engaged in submarine repair and other military activities;
18. Proletarsky Zavod, participated in the completion of strategic orders of the Russian government and the production of submarine products;
19. Khabarovsk Shipbuilding Yard, involved in the construction of ships for the Russian Navy and the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation;
20. Aysberg Central Design Building, engaged in ship design;
21. Kaspiyskaya Energiya Administration Office, responsible for completing strategic work related to USC and the oil and gas industry;
22. Northern Production Association Arktika, engaged in production activities related to military ships;
23. Northern Machine-Building Enterprise, which builds submarines for the Russian Navy;
24. Svetlovsky Enterprise ERA, for activities related to ship automation;
25. Shipbuilding Plant Lotos, a Russian military-industrial complex shipyard;
26. Kronshtadtskyy Morskoy Factory Minoborony Rossii, for the Russian Ministry of Defense;
27. Sudoexport, representing USC to enter the world shipbuilding market;
28. Design Office for Shipbuilding Vympel, which designs special-purpose ships for the Russian Navy and other projects for the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Companies blacklisted by the United States face asset freezes in the United States. U.S. citizens and corporations are prohibited from conducting any business activities with these entities.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an early morning televised speech that he had launched a special military operation in Ukraine in response to requests from the leaders of the Donbas republics for help. He stressed that Moscow has no intention of occupying Ukrainian territory, and the leader stressed that the sole purpose of the operation was to demilitarize and demilitarize Ukraine.

It is understood that the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) is the largest shipbuilding group in Russia. According to the Russian Presidential Decree on March 21, 2007 signed by Putin, the United Shipbuilding Corporation was officially established, and the registration was completed in mid-November 2007. , headquartered in St. Petersburg, the Russian government holds 100% of the company's shares, the group has 50 subsidiaries such as shipyards, ship repair yards and design bureaus.

The purpose of establishing the USC by the Russian government is to consolidate and develop the Russian defense industry and safeguard the national maritime security and defense system. While developing, producing, constructing, repairing and maintaining warship and submarine projects, vigorously develop the civilian shipbuilding industry and develop the world maritime market. The USC is completely controlled by the government, and its 11 members of the board of directors are elected by the Government of the Russian Federation to exercise power on behalf of the state for a 12-month term.

Western countries have imposed new sanctions on Russia due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. According to the Russian President's Press Secretary Peskov, the Western sanctions are very strong, but Russia is prepared for this in advance. He added that this requires analysis and coordination across ministries to develop a response that is in Russia's interests.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the policy of containing and weakening Russia is a long-term strategy of the West, and sanctions have dealt a heavy blow to economies around the world. He pointed out that the main goal of the West is to make the lives of millions worse, and by freezing Russia's foreign exchange reserves, the United States and the European Union have effectively declared a default on Russian debt. He added that current events would end the West's global dominance of politics and economics.
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Temporary knowledge of customs clearance of inbound and outbound goods

1. What is temporary inbound and outbound goods?

Temporary inbound and outbound goods usually refer to international organizations, foreign governments, domestic and foreign enterprises, institutions, groups or individuals for the purpose of carrying out exchanges and cooperation in economy, technology, science, culture, education, sports, health, etc., as well as engineering construction and equipment maintenance. Items such as goods that are temporarily transported into the territory of my country or transported out of the country with the approval of the customs and need to be re-transported out or re-transported into the country.

The document has special provisions on the scope of the above goods:

"Exhibitions, trade fairs, conferences and similar events" means:

1. Trade, industry, agriculture, craft exhibitions, as well as trade fairs and expositions;
2. Exhibitions or conferences organized for charitable purposes;
3. Exhibitions or conferences organized to promote scientific and technological, educational, cultural and sports exchanges, tourism activities or non-governmental friendship;
4. Conference of representatives of international organizations or international organizations;
5. Commemorative Congresses organized by the government.

"Exhibit" means:

1. The goods displayed at the exhibition;
2. Goods used for the demonstration of machines or appliances exhibited at the exhibition;
3. Set up construction materials and decorative materials for temporary booths;
4. Movies, slideshows, video tapes, audio tapes, manuals, advertisements, CD-ROMs, display equipment, etc. to promote and display goods;
5. Other goods for exhibition display.

"Sample" refers to the sample of goods used for display, operation demonstration, reference for ordering, inspection and testing, but does not include the same goods imported or exported by the same consignee and consignee in excess of a reasonable quantity.

"Equipment, instruments and supplies used in project construction" refers to the construction equipment, instruments and supplies in Sino-foreign cooperation projects that the foreign party brings into the country and the Chinese party does not need to pay external fees.

"Other temporary inbound and outbound goods approved by the customs" refers to the temporary inbound and outbound goods approved by the customs that belong to key national projects and special needs.

"Packaging material" means the material used in its original state for packaging, protecting, filling or separating goods and the device used for transportation, handling or stacking.

Customs reminds attention: non-public exhibitions organized in shops or other business premises for the purpose of selling foreign goods do not belong to the exhibitions, trade fairs, conferences and similar activities mentioned in these Measures.

2. Customs clearance process for temporary inbound and outbound goods

The competent customs of the temporary entry and exit of goods is the customs of the place where exhibitions, trade fairs, conferences and similar activities are held in China, or the customs of the entry and exit of goods. For temporary inbound and outbound goods entering and exiting the country through customs transit, the competent customs shall be the customs of the transit point of shipment or the place of departure.

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4 time limits for foreign trade export tax rebate

Export enterprises should pay special attention to the declaration procedures and the concept of time when handling export tax rebates to avoid losses. When exporting tax rebates, export enterprises should pay attention to the following four time limits:

One is "30 days"

After foreign trade enterprises purchase import and export goods, they should promptly obtain special VAT invoices or ordinary invoices from the supplying enterprises, which are VAT invoices for anti-counterfeiting tax and tax control, and must go through the certification procedures within 30 days from the date of invoicing.

The second is "90 days"

Foreign trade enterprises must go through the export tax rebate declaration procedures within 90 days from the date of export declaration of goods, and production enterprises must go through tax exemption and deduction declaration procedures within three months from the date of declaration of goods for export.

The third is "180 days"

Export enterprises must provide the local competent tax refund department with the verification form of export foreign exchange receipts (except for forward foreign exchange receipts) within 180 days from the date of export declaration.

The fourth is "3 months"

If the paper tax refund certificate for export goods of an export enterprise is missing or the contents are incorrectly filled in, and it can be reissued or changed according to relevant regulations, the export enterprise may apply to the tax refund department for an extension of the declaration of tax refund (exemption) for export goods within the declaration period. , the application can be extended for 3 months.

Tax classification and attached materials of tax refund (exemption) for export goods

According to the current tax system, the two types of tax refund (exemption) for export goods in my country are value-added tax and consumption tax within the scope of turnover tax (also known as indirect tax).
The tax refund (exemption) for export goods is the value-added tax and consumption tax that have been paid in all aspects of domestic production and circulation of export goods.

Keywords: turnover tax

It generally refers to the so-called tax on items characterized by commodities. As far as my country's current tax system is concerned, turnover tax includes value-added tax, business tax, consumption tax, land value-added tax, customs duties and some local industrial and commercial taxes.

Materials for export tax rebate:

1. Customs declaration. The customs declaration form is a document filled in by the import and export enterprise to go through the declaration procedures to the customs when the goods are imported or exported, so that the customs can check and release the goods based on this.
2. Export sales invoice. This is the document filled out by the export enterprise according to the sales contract signed with the export buyer. It is the main document for foreign purchases, and it is also the basis for the accounting department of the export enterprise to record the sales revenue of export products.
3. Purchase invoice. The main purpose of providing purchase invoices is to determine the supplier, product name, measurement unit, and quantity of export products, whether it is the sales price of the manufacturer, so as to divide and calculate the purchase cost.
4. Foreign exchange settlement bill or foreign exchange receipt notice.
5. For the self-made products directly exported or entrusted to export by the manufacturer, if the settlement is based on the CIF price, the export cargo waybill and export insurance policy should also be attached.
6. Contract Information. Enterprises that have the business of processing re-exported products with imported materials shall also submit the contract number, date, name and quantity of imported materials and parts, name of re-exported products, cost of imported materials and various taxes paid to the tax authorities. amount, etc.
7. Product tax certificate.
8. Proof that the export proceeds have been written off.
9. Other materials related to export tax rebates.

General trade export goods tax refund method

At present, the tax refund methods for foreign-invested enterprises export goods include "first levy and then refund" and "exemption, credit, and refund" tax.

"Tax first and then refund" means that the goods exported by production enterprises by themselves or by entrusted agents shall be taxed at the tax rate stipulated in the Interim Value-Added Tax Regulations, and then the tax authorities in charge of export tax rebates shall conduct tax rebates within the national export tax rebate plan. Approval of tax refund according to the specified tax refund rate.

Tax basis

The tax refund amount shall be calculated according to the FOB price of the current export goods multiplied by the exchange rate in RMB.

"FOB" (written as FOB price in English) is the FOB price at the port of shipment, but this FOB price is a symbolic price, that is, the seller will hand over the necessary shipping documents to the buyer to collect the payment according to the contract, and the risks of the buyer and the seller are divided. All are limited by the loading of goods on the ship. Therefore, the FOB price is for the buyer to be responsible for chartering and booking space, and to apply for insurance to pay the transportation and insurance premiums.

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Import and export freight declaration guide

1. The transaction method should be accurate

According to the requirements of the "Customs Declaration Form Filling Specification", there are 7 types of transaction methods that can be filled in: CIF, C&F, FOB, C&I, market price, advance position, EXW. The common ones are CIF, C&F, FOB, EXW. Among them, CIF (CostInsurance and Freight) cost plus insurance and freight, C&F (Costand Freight) cost plus freight are two transaction methods, and the freight is paid by the seller, and FOB (FreeOnBoard) is delivered at the port of shipment. EXW (ExWork) EXW (designated place) two transaction methods, the freight shall be paid by the buyer.

2. EXW freight needs to be complete

The "Shipping" column should be filled in:

The transportation cost before the imported goods arrive at the import point in my country before unloading
The transportation cost after the export goods are loaded to the output point in my country

If the imported goods are traded by FOB, the "Freight" column should be filled in with the actual transportation costs paid before the goods arrive at the Chinese port from the overseas delivery port; if the imported goods are traded by EXW, the "Freight" column should be filled in before the goods are delivered from the overseas delivery point to the Chinese port. The transportation cost actually paid; if the transaction is made in CIF or CFR, and the transaction price includes the aforementioned transportation cost, the "Freight" column is exempt from reporting.

3. Miscellaneous fees are filled with positive and negative
When an enterprise declares to the customs, the transportation surcharge can be filled in the miscellaneous expenses column of the customs declaration form. Such as common demurrage charges, should be filled in the miscellaneous charges column.

4. Demurrage distinction is important

Demurrage refers to an agreement to be paid by the charterer to the shipowner due to the failure to unload all the goods within the specified time, resulting in the ship continuing to berth in the port, increasing the shipowner’s expenses in port and suffering loss of shipping time. payments.

Demurrage occurs before the cargo is unloaded, that is, if the demurrage has already occurred at the beginning of the actual unloading of the goods, the enterprise shall apply to the customs in writing and provide relevant documents, and there are objective quantitative data on the delay before and after the loading and unloading. In the case of accurately distinguishing the demurrage charges, only the demurrage charges incurred before the loading and unloading of the goods are included in the dutiable value of the imported goods (that is, the demurrage charges incurred after the loading and unloading are not included in the customs value).

Demurrage occurs after the goods are unloaded, that is, if the demurrage has not yet occurred at the beginning of the actual unloading of the goods, it will not be included in the dutiable value of the imported goods.

5. The dispatch payment is normally not deducted

Dispatch fee means that the unloading of the cargo is completed in advance within the specified time, which shortens the life cycle of the ship, and the shipowner returns the agreed payment to the charterer.

The consignment fee shall not be deducted from the dutiable value of the imported goods after the goods are loaded and unloaded at the place of import.

If the dispatch fee occurs when the goods are loaded at the exporting place and is returned to the buyer by the shipowner, the fee can be deducted from the dutiable value of the imported goods.

6. Pay attention to surcharges when oil prices rise

Fuel surcharge BAF (BunkerAdjustmentFactor) or BS (BunkerSurcharge), also known as FAF (FuelAdjustmentFactor), is an additional surcharge charged by the ship to compensate for the increase in fuel costs without adjusting the basic freight rate due to the increase in fuel prices. fee. Japan and Australia routes can be represented by EBS, and routes in Africa and Central and South America can be represented by EBA.

The emergency fuel surcharge EAS (Emergency Adjustment Surcharge) means that if the fuel price suddenly rises again when the fuel surcharge has been levied, the ship will also increase the fuel surcharge in addition to the normal fuel surcharge.

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Seafarers have reasonable epidemic prevention, but they are maliciously harassed by Panamanian aviators!

In recent months, I have heard several times that the pilots deliberately made things difficult for the ship to pass through Panama, causing the ship to delay crossing the river. At first, I did not take it seriously, because I have always had a good impression of the management and services of the Panama Canal, just like the canal. The charming tropical rainforest scenery on both sides of the strait is the same, until recently, my personal experience has subverted the original cognition. Therefore, I decided to write it down and be a kind reminder for colleagues' reference, which may be helpful.

It is planned to enter the Pacific Ocean through the Panama Canal from the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and then return to China. According to the afternoon before the scheduled date of passing the canal (no later than 02:00lt on the same day), our ship successfully anchored in the northwest of the sea off the CRISTOBAL breakwater, and boarded the ship at 1515LT the next day. It was planned that our ship was at the fleet number S10, and the actual 0518LT arrived at the PILOT STATION (the mouth of the breakwater). The first pilot successfully boarded the ship with a boarding speed of 5 knots. Due to epidemic prevention and control, all crew members are required to wear four sets of epidemic prevention suits: protective clothing, masks, face shields or goggles, and rubber gloves. As soon as PILOT boarded the ship, his attitude was very unfriendly. He had to walk into the bridge from the living area, otherwise he would not lead the boat (during the epidemic, the pilot water was generally allowed to go outside).

After the water was brought to the bridge, he got angry again and again, complained that we were wearing protective suits and disrespected him, mocked that everyone was like a WHITE RABBIT, and kept expressing what seemed to be "reasonable anger". When he had a conflict, he could only explain it well: "During the epidemic, we traveled through various countries, and the risk factor was high, and it was also for everyone's safety... At the same time, the company also clearly stipulated and so on." I thought that PILOT's vexatious troubles would end with our friendly consolation, but I didn't expect that the nightmare had just begun.

About 500 meters before entering the first gate, the speed of the ship is 2.2 knots, and the PILOT requires the bow thruster to turn to the left at full speed (BOW THRUSTER FULL TO PORT). I was worried that the water diversion would take advantage of the problem. After checking with the old track, after turning off some unnecessary equipment loads, I took a risk and adjusted the thruster load to 100%. However, PILOT said NO GOOD, IT'S PROBLEM, we must let it go. The chief engineer came up to explain and repaired it. It was ridiculous. With a side thrust of 900KW and a full-load displacement of more than 40,000 tons, how could the effect be immediate. I knew in my heart that the Chief Engineer came to no avail. Once he came up, he would have less flexibility to deal with it, so I explained that the Chief Engineer couldn't go away and kept procrastinating.

During the period, the worst thing was that PILOT insisted that the cooling effect of the air conditioner was not up to standard, and secretly called the canal authorities to complain (the canal prosecutor has inspected the equipment of our ship, and the condition is good, including the air conditioning system), PILOT also Said to me, due to the fleet adjustment, I passed the third LOCK and went to drop a short anchor first, which I believed at the time. It was not until ten minutes later that I received an inquiry call from the company on the bridge that my boat had been delayed to cross the river due to a complaint about the air conditioning system. After hanging up on the phone, he was furious, but quickly realized that he couldn't get angry, otherwise it would be counterproductive. First of all, go to check the thermometer on the bridge, the actual temperature at that time was 26 ℃, take evidence, photos and videos, and send them to the company and the agent to ask the authorities to reconsider and verify. In the third LOCK, the canal authorities sent a third-party inspection engineer to board the ship to inspect and test the air-conditioning system, including the bridge and living area, and finally concluded that the temperature was comfortable and normal, and the plan of crossing the river was resumed again, but The anger that caused the diversion rebounded sharply, and the difficulties became even more intensified. The second PILOT boarded the ship at 0625LT. The two of them seemed to have negotiated well, and then began to criticize the protective clothing of my ship, especially the PILOT reported earlier, which was even more unreasonable. They communicated, otherwise, they refused to communicate. For the sake of safety, of course, we did not agree. We still maintained peaceful exchanges and tried our best to avoid the escalation of conflicts.

We made it through the canal anyway, and although it wasn't delayed, the results were good, but the process was a real ordeal. To sum up, I think we should not only carefully prepare the inspection content stipulated by the canal authorities, but also prepare how to deal with a series of malicious difficulties from PILOT. Maybe there is any interest relationship behind it, we don't know, the only thing we have to do is Resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of ships from being infringed.Want to ship goods in China? Contact us!

Asian owners have larger fleets than Europe

Clarksons Research Services, in its latest weekly report, highlights how Asian shipowners are finally reinventing their European counterparts to become the dominant force in global shipping.

European owners have historically had the largest share of the global fleet, with 44% of gt at the turn of the century, and Asian owners 32%.
Led by rapid growth in China, Asian shipowners overtook Europe last year, and looking at global orders, the gap will widen in the coming years. According to a recent report by Clarksons Research, by the end of 2021, Asian shipowners currently have a market share of 43% (48,472 ships, 637 million gt) of world fleet capacity in terms of gross tonnage, surpassing that of European shipowners. 42% market share of fleet capacity (30,610 vessels, 630 million gt).

Over the past decade, Chinese shipowners have increased their fleet gross tonnage from 111 million to 226 million and are now the second largest shipowner of all countries with a 15% global share. shipping goods in China

Asian shipowners now account for 43% of global tonnage, with 48,472 vessels totalling 637 million tons, according to Clarkson. This exceeds the 42% share of European shipowners, comprising 30,610 vessels with a gross tonnage of 630 million.

“The tonnage shift from Europe to Asia looks set to continue for some time, with almost half of the global order book (79m GT, 49%) going to Asia Pacific owners compared to 33% (53m GT) for European owners,” Clarksons pointed out.

Asia dominates many other aspects of maritime, including ports, shipbuilding and crew supply.

In addition, Asia's growing market share in global trade is driving a large number of newbuilding investments in many Asian countries, which will eventually lead to a significant increase in fleet capacity share.

It is worth noting that despite the fact that countries in the region have experienced some of the strictest epidemic prevention and control restrictions in the past two years, with borders effectively closed for two years, the growth of the Asian fleet has remained very strong during the pandemic. s level.

Take the shipping industry as an example. After the outbreak, the container shipping market rebounded rapidly from the second half of 2020 after a brief downturn. Due to the supply chain congestion caused by the epidemic, there is an urgent need for a large number of container ships in the market. During this period, Asian container shipping companies ordered 236 ships, with a total capacity of 1.81 million TEU. And the pace of newbuilding orders is still showing no signs of slowing down.

With the exception of Greece, fleet growth in other European countries has been relatively sluggish, or even reversed. Taking Germany as an example, the combined capacity of German shipowners fell by 34% to 62 million gt during the same period.

Clarkson also said that this trend will continue to develop. Because the current market share of newbuildings owned by Asian shipowners also accounts for nearly half - 49% (79 million gt), it is worth mentioning that the total capacity of Chinese shipowners' newbuilding orders has reached 29 million gt, 18% of the world share.

However, the newbuilding order capacity of European shipowners is currently only 53 million gt, and the share is only 33%.

Seaspan plans to expand investment in container ships.

 

In the past two years, the container shipping market has been hot. Although Seaspan, as the world's largest independent container ship owner, could have sat down and reveled in the high income, sufficient customers and long-term leases, due to the rapid development of the shipping industry, the The company still plans to expand its investment in container ships.

The Vancouver-based, Hong Kong-registered, Atlas Corporation-owned company has been growing at a record pace over the past year and a half. Its latest financial statements for 2021 confirmed that the company's cash flow was very solid, with a profit of $400 million in 2021, double the previous year. The leasing business added 70 newbuildings, or about 0.9 million TEU, and new contracts generated total cash flow of up to $12.9 billion.

Like the big liner companies, Seaspan is building a very strong capital pool. There is no doubt that investing in new projects is very easy for Seaspan. If a bank needs it to guarantee a loan, Seaspan can easily find a recent lease with a major liner company, which can last up to 18 years.

That said, Seaspan will still have an exceptionally strong funding position until 2040, even if the hot container market cools one day.

Seaspan and its shareholders want uninterrupted returns through continuous investment like a shipping company. Many large liner companies use their profits to invest in logistics assets. For example, Maersk bought LF, MSC bought Bolloré's African business, and CMA CGM bought Ceva.

But considering that the customers of these profiteers are now helpless to pay sky-high freight costs and endure long delays, in this case, shipping companies rely on their special tax incentives and use their high profits to acquire Another industry has exacerbated the negative sentiment in some parts of the supply chain market to a certain extent. Seaspan needs to study how to play a long-term "ship owner and operator" in the container shipping industry. business to best serve customers.

The issue has been discussed within the company for some time, but according to COO Torsten Pedersen, there is no final conclusion yet. But in general, the company aims to further strengthen its position in global value chains, including beyond 2025.

Ensuring a role in decarbonisation may be an option, but it may also be other activities, and opportunities abound in the chaotic container market.

“The industry is currently undergoing major changes, and the competitive environment is very different from a few years ago. Some links may be squeezed in the new structure, and there will be many strategic moves and counter-attacks in the industry. Huge market changes can provide many creative opportunities, we Think it's an exciting challenge."

"It's a good thing that Seaspan has a strong financial position" amid the boom in the container market, Pedersen said. Seaspan is currently achieving its stated goals. The company has struck deals with operators to build around 70 new ships over the next two or three years.

Concluding comments on the shipping industry, he said: "We have strong partners and long-term contracts, and our partner yards have a long history of shipbuilding. This is an industry that will be heavily funded in the next few years and the landscape is changing."

Subtle changes in supply and demand, freight rates drop one after another

Supply and demand conditions improved, and freight rates continued to fall. There are many uncertain factors, and the future trend is still unclear.
Recently, the freight rates of major routes in the container shipping market have changed the pace of rising and have continued to decline in the past month. Even so, since the high freight rate in the fourth quarter of last year continued to the first quarter of this year, the current freight rate is still much higher than the same period last year.

Multi-route freight rates drop

According to Drewry data, as of March 17, the World Containerized Freight Index (WCI) was US$8,832.23/FEU, down 3.8% month-on-month and still up 79% compared with the same period in 2021.

In terms of routes, the Shanghai-Rotterdam spot freight rate was US$12,221/FEU, down 4% month-on-month; the Shanghai-Genoa spot freight rate was US$12,619/FEU, up 1% month-on-month; the Shanghai-Los Angeles spot freight rate was US$10,154 /FEU, down 7% month-on-month; Shanghai-New York spot freight rate was US$12,276/FEU, down 5% month-on-month.

On March 18, the China Export Container Freight Index (CCFI) released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange was 3301.10 points, down 1.9% from the previous month. Among them, the freight index of European routes decreased by 1.9% month-on-month, the freight index of Mediterranean routes decreased by 0.5% month-on-month, the freight index of US-West routes decreased by 3.8% month-on-month, and the freight index of US-East routes increased by 2.1% month-on-month.

According to the Ningbo Export Container Freight Index (NCFI) released by the Ningbo Shipping Exchange, as of March 18, the composite index closed at 3,613.9 points, a month-on-month decline for 11 consecutive weeks, down 15.3% from the high level at the end of December 2021, and from the end of February. It fell 8.4%.

Judging from the situation of different routes since the end of February, the freight index of the South America east route decreased by 19.3%, the freight index of the South American west route decreased by 16.7%, the freight index of the Middle East route decreased by 17.6%, the India-Pakistan route decreased by 13.7%, and the freight index of the European route decreased by 13.7%. The price index fell 11.7%, the most significant decline. The average market price of the 40-foot TEU after the price increase in the Europe, South America East, South America West and America West routes fell by more than US$1,500/FEU, and the freight rate fell the most. It can be seen that, in the past month, although the freight rates of some routes remained flat or increased slightly month-on-month, in general, they showed a downward trend.

As far as the single-day freight rate is concerned, in early March, the freight rate trend showed a clear inflection point.

According to Xeneta data, recently, freight rates from China to Europe suffered the largest one-day drop since February 2020. On March 1, the average spot rate on the route fell by nearly $500/FEU to $13,340/FEU. This is the first time since September 2021 that freight rates on this route are below $13,500/FEU.

However, the agency also pointed out that the current freight rates on the Asia-Europe route are still at a very high level compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak. In 2018-2020, the average spot freight rate on this route was only US$1,500/FEU.

Based on this, Zheng Jingwen, a senior analyst at the International Shipping Research Institute of the Shanghai International Shipping Research Center, said in an interview with a reporter from China Shipping Weekly that according to the trend of previous years, the freight rate will indeed drop slightly and briefly in the first quarter.

Qian Hanglu, an industry analyst at Ningbo Shipping Exchange, also said: "This is mainly due to the traditional off-season, which makes the overall freight rate of the container shipping market continue to decline from mid-January to late March. For example, in 2019 In 2021 and 2021, the NCFI composite index has experienced a 10-week decline, with a cumulative decline of 25.7% and 19.4%, respectively."

Huiyang Shipping’s first-quarter profit tripled year-on-year

The crisis in Russia and Ukraine pushed up the freight rate of bulk carriers, and the performance of Huiyang Shipping in March and the first quarter both hit record highs.

On April 6, Huiyang Shipping announced its financial report. The revenue in March was NT$2.203 billion (approximately RMB 486 million), and the self-settled operating profit was NT$1.139 billion (approximately RMB 251 million). The monthly pre-tax profit was NT$1.175 billion (approximately RMB 259 million).

The financial report shows that in the first quarter, Huiyang Shipping’s revenue was NT$5.754 billion (approximately RMB 1.269 billion), and its pre-tax profit was NT$2.777 billion (approximately RMB 612 million), three times that of the same period last year. , a record high for the same period of the previous year, with an average operating profit rate of 48%.

Huiyang Shipping said that the global dry bulk shipping market is still affected by the crisis in Russia and Ukraine. At present, due to the surge in oil prices and the transfer of raw material importing countries to other countries for procurement, the voyage has increased. These factors may increase the freight rate. However, whether the demand for raw materials is It can be fully supplemented by other regions, and the impact of subsequent economic sanctions by various countries still needs to be continuously observed.

On the other hand, the epidemic in mainland China heated up again in late March, and the first-tier cities along the coast were shut down due to epidemic prevention, resulting in a slight decline in the market volume. However, Huiyang Shipping believes that this is a short-term impact, and there is a possibility of demand recovery sex.

In terms of fleet planning, Huiyang Shipping received the 37,800-dwt handy-sized high-specification energy-saving and environmentally friendly bulk carrier "Bunun Treasure" delivered by Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan at the end of March, and has signed a stable charter. Up to now, the company's fleet operates 139 ships, with an average age of 7 years. The fleet size and the proportion of energy-saving ships are in a leading position in the industry.

Looking forward to 2022, Huiyang Shipping still maintains an optimistic attitude. Due to the rising freight market and raw material prices in recent years, the construction cost of bulk carriers has increased by about 30%-40% on average compared with the same period last year. The number of orders on hand for cargo ships is still low, and after the new environmental protection regulations hit the road in 2023, it is expected that the elimination of old ships will make the supply of capacity even tighter, and Huiyang Shipping maintains a consistent and stable ship purchase policy, which will give it a more competitive advantage.