Are you looking for a specific period container? Do you have items or items that you want to store in containers to protect them from damage? Do you want the flexibility to rent containers at different points in time? If the answer is yes, then renting a container is ideal for you. Container leasing gives you flexibility in how you use your containers and how you plan your budget. Buying one, on the other hand, increases your liability and costs.
Here are the different types of container rentals that we will be covering in this blog:
1.Master lease
They are also commonly referred to as short to medium term leases. They fall into the full-service rental category with no cap on the minimum or maximum number of containers. The lease term is variable and the lessor is responsible for the maintenance, repair and relocation of the container. The agreement also involves an accounting system that includes debits and credits between the parties based on the condition of the containers at the time of their return. The lessor must undertake the allocation of the containers to meet the needs of the lessee. Therefore, it is important to ensure a stable supply of empty containers at the pick-up point. The master lease agreement sets out the main conditions such as the rental cost per day, the types of containers that can be disposed of, the number of containers to be used in each warehouse, the collection and delivery centers, payment terms, etc. The lessee has no obligation to use the container before picking up the container from the yard, and the contract takes effect when the lessee picks up the container from the yard. A separate individual contract is signed for each container collected under the Master Lease Agreement.
2.Long-term lease
Far less flexible than a master lease, long-term leases are a favorite of many rental companies. The duration of the contract is fixed. As well as a certain number of containers and delivery schedule. This leaves the leasing company with nothing to do once the container is signed for.
The lessee bears the cost of repairs, maintenance and relocation. Although definitions of terms vary, most leasing companies define long-term leases as 5 to 8 years. For long-term leases, the containers are usually brand new. This is why many long-term rental agreements come with negotiable terms. The clause allows rental rates to be negotiated after a few years based on depreciation and market fluctuations.
3.One way rental
They are also known as one-way rental agreements, and containers can be picked up at one location and dropped off at another. Both parties benefit from such one-way leasing arrangements due to operational rationalization and cost reduction. It is suitable for different regional requirements of customers and has the added benefit of saving on relocation costs.
4.Short-term rental
Also known as spot market leases, they are subject to market conditions dictated by supply and demand dynamics. Such leasing arrangements typically occur during temporary demand surges, which may be cyclical or sudden. Because of this market volatility, leasing companies prefer not to keep large inventories of such containers to meet short-term rental demand, to avoid the possibility of them being underutilized for an extended period of time. But careful planning and forecasting can handle unforeseen surges in demand. Maintenance, repair and relocation tasks are undertaken by the lessee. Aside from the higher cost, the one setback here is that you have to adhere to the minimum time to use the container. Usually leasing companies do not want to rent out containers for less than 6 months.
Transaction speed is another important issue for businesses to consider. Rental companies are also on the platform. Given the unbalanced nature of the world economy and trade, the number of containers is unbalanced.
When goods are transferred around the world, they rarely go from departure to destination locations in one step. In fact, they may switch between air, ocean, land, and rail carriers before they reach their destination.
Freight forwarders do the work of organizing, planning, and optimizing global trade routes and logistics solutions to facilitate the movement and storage of those goods. They rely on an expansive network of transport vehicles, warehouses, and intermodal points to streamline the movement of goods and cargo across the whole world.
Freight forwarders and logistics companies gather information from shippers, warehousers, truckers, and more to plan the route cargo will take. When they need to incorporate a shipment, an optimized route is already available and ready to utilize.
International Freight Forwarding Services
International freight forwarding services helps ensure an uninterrupted supply chain for international shipping partners. International logistics include foreign customs, duties, regulations, and fees, that are constantly changing and being updated.
It is important for freight forwarders and logistics companies to carefully handle such processes and stay up to date on issues related to global transport. These things can change from day-to-day, and shippers should be aware of cost fluctuations, new regulations, or procedures at both destinations and departure points.
Cost
A shipping company handles transportation services for you, but an industry-leading freight forwarder can help you optimize your time and money. Freight forwarders incorporate your supply chain into an existing and strong network of shipments.
Asiana USA provides door-to-door transportation and logistics services that are meant to reduce overall costs. Our advanced and integrated shipping network allows us to optimize the movement of goods around the United States and the world.
Services
Freight forwarding services include tracking inland transportation, document preparation, warehousing, negotiating fees, insurance, cargo consolidation, and shipping. These services greatly improve shipping for the shipper, receiver, and freight forwarding company.
Ideally, you should seek a partner who can perform all of these services. If you use more than one or all of these services, this will optimize your supply chain and shipping experience overall.
Mode of Transport
The best freight forwarding service providers make use of all modes of travel. Optimizing shipping routes using land, rail ocean, and air freight allows for an extended network of travel to and from multiple intermodal drayage points.
Drayage shipping means that cargo is moved between major intermodal points using high-volume transport such as a ship or train. Then, smaller vehicles will move them to the cargo to its final destination.
Trucks are an efficient way to move cargo and single containers between drayage points. While long-haul trucking has often been used to transport containers long distances, this practice is being replaced by drayage trucking, and other modes of transport are used for longer transport.
This is a safer alternative and more efficient, as truckers can make multiple trips daily. Additionally, truck companies have been incorporating new technology to further optimize the trucking experience, such as automatic transmissions and multiple cameras.
Rail transport is a far more efficient way to move multiple containers long distances. Instead of one driver per truck per container, a train can move over 200 double-stacked containers, use far less energy, and require far less personnel to operate.
It’s a safer, more effective way to move large goods long distances. Using one train where 100 trucks would have been needed also creates less pollution.
Air freight is used for more time-sensitive shipments. As transporting cargo by air poses weight and size restrictions, it is better used for smaller cargo. Due to high demand and higher fuel costs, air travel may be less suitable for heavy supply chains.
However, when cargo needs to travel far overnight, air freight can usually be the best option. Other situations where air freight is preferable is if you are shipping perishable, sensitive or hazardous items where special handling is required.
The majority of shipping occurs via the ocean. Ships carry large container loads and optimize shipping routes between major global trade ports. Transporting large amounts of cargo between major ports all over the world by ship allows for the rest of the shipping industry to flourish.
Over 11 million containers arrive yearly at different ports in the United States, many of which continue their journey by land to different parts of the country.
Final Thoughts
Choose a freight forwarding service that helps your business perform better by optimizing your supply chain, reducing your shipping costs, and deals with complicated international paperwork for you.TJ China Freight provides the best solution and the timely feedback for all kinds of shipment from every city in China by sea, by air and by railway, and we can provide the competitive price based on the best service, meanwhile we can also provide the other best service, including customs clearance, pick up & delivery service, shipping to Amazon FBA, warehousing & Distribution, cargo insurance, container loading supervision and Express,In a Word, everything you want to ship from China, TJ China Freight can always help.
Contact Info
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If shippers and logistics companies hope that the ultra-high shipping container prices will fall in the New Year, then they may be disappointed.
Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, revealed at a press conference that global logistics giants and container liner companies expect that the chaotic market, lack of berths, and container shortages, etc., will still be available by 2021. Will last for a while.
In addition, Tim Scharwath, CEO of freight forwarding giant DHL Global Freight Forwarding, also attended the meeting. What the two CEOs have in common is that they agree that 2020 is characterized by great unpredictability, such as promising customers whether their goods will reach their destinations on time, which is very unpredictable.
As time goes by and the year is coming to an end, shippers have to pay more and more freight to ship the goods. This development is largely due to the sharp increase in demand month by month since July. For example, it is not uncommon to have to pay US$5,000 for shipping containers from Hong Kong to New York.
▍It will not stabilize until the second half of 2021
The two executives agreed that after the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia this spring, the very special environment has caused a historic imbalance between supply and demand. They also believe that the shipping market will not stabilize for the time being.
Scharwath said: "As for shipping, I think we must enter the second half of 2021 before we see the market stabilize again. The first quarter will definitely be affected, and so will the second quarter."
"We will have to wait and see what happens, because everything is difficult to predict. As a large company, we usually make plans for 3 to 5 years. Now, we are making plans for 3 months."
Inadequate ship capacity and insufficient containers have serious consequences for the industry’s supply chain. In addition to customer dishonesty and record high freight rates, a recent survey conducted by Sea-Intelligence shows that only half of the ships can reach their destinations on time .
▍Shipping companies strengthen management and control
Mainly affected by the new crown epidemic, container shipping companies’ performance in the second quarter was weak, but their profits have soared to record levels since the summer. However, the quality of service is lacking, and container shipping companies have been stating for months that these conditions are beyond the scope that they can change.
On the one hand, they do not have more ships to deploy, on the other hand, they cannot redistribute the containers to the required ports. In addition to other reasons, customers do not return the goods.
Currently, Asia in particular is suffering from a shortage of containers because many containers are in the United States. According to a Bloomberg report, it may also be because of port congestion that these containers cannot be unloaded at US ports. This is the case with 20 container ships currently near the Port of Long Beach.
Therefore, at the beginning of December, CMA CGM, Maersk and ONE had to refuse to leave the booking outside of Asia, the reason is very simple, because there is no extra space on board.
Hapag-Lloyd, led by Habben Jansen, also benefited from the increase in freight rates in recent months. Therefore, the shipping company has twice raised its full-year 2020 profit forecast, and the company currently expects its operating results to exceed US$2.7 billion.
However, the CEO said that it is usually because of an oversupply of ships, and 10 years after the industry has lost billions of dollars, it is time for container shipping companies to start making money.
▍Strong performance in the second quarter of next year
Until recently, shipping companies and container manufacturers also predicted that the current shortage of containers will be resolved after the Chinese New Year in February, which will restore the market to a more normal state. But Habben Jansen no longer believes this prediction is correct.
"This year’s development is beyond everyone’s expectations. Because of the introduction of economic stimulus measures, people still have money on hand, and most of the money has been spent on container cargo. Many signs indicate that the strong market we see after the Spring Festival has passed. It will appear and will continue into the second quarter."
Habben Jansen pointed out that the current market congestion will take some time to resolve.
As my country's foreign trade exports gradually stabilized and improved, the lack of domestic export capacity has appeared in many places, and for a period of time, it has also been accompanied by a shortage of containers.
Recently, a 1℃ reporter from China Business News found that the main reason for the “difficult to find one container” situation was that due to the epidemic, the efficiency of container turnover was reduced, and the port congestion caused a large number of delays in shipping schedules, which further aggravated the return of containers. smooth. With the efforts of domestic container manufacturers in recent months, the shortage of domestic containers has improved, and the shortage of some ports has eased.
However, new container manufacturers dare not continue to expand production capacity. Because of the epidemic, market uncertainty continues.
According to the 1℃ reporter's further on-site investigation, the shortage of containers has stimulated the kinetic energy of new container construction in China, and the prices of raw materials and labor have risen. The ex-factory price of new containers will rise accordingly. For the high freight rates, it is the foreign trade companies that ultimately suffer the loss of profits.
Inefficient port congestion
On the afternoon of December 2, when the 1℃ reporter arrived at Shenzhen Yantian International Container Terminal, the containers were piled up like a mountain, and heavy semi-trailer trucks entered and exited in file at the gate: the first class trucks were fully loaded with the containers that were about to be exported and went through automatic inspection. The passage enters the terminal, and the other type is an empty truck, which enters the gate and exits after the airspace cabinet. Many large trucks are still lining up to pick up the containers.
Chinese exports with a major source of container in two aspects, one is emptying the old container port after unloading , the second is Chinese-made box business of new office box . According to statistics from China Container Industry Association, usually the storage size of empty containers at ports is about 4 million TEU (Twenty-feet Equivalent Unit, the international standard unit, a container with a length of 20 feet is the international unit of measurement), and the port unloads old containers. It is the main source of supply for export boxes in my country.
We have not yet seen data on how many empty containers are available in the yards of domestic ports such as Yantian Port, but statistics from the China Container Industry Association show that since this year, China’s major foreign trade container ports have unloaded old container stocks with export growth and overseas adjustments. Due to restrictions on the return of empty containers and other factors, the unloaded old container stock of the seven major foreign trade container ports continued to decrease from about 3.05 million TEU at the end of February 2020 to about 1.85 million TEU at the end of October, compared with the same period in the past five years A reduction of 26%.
Photo: Yantian International Container Terminal is located in Dapeng Bay, east of Shenzhen. Photo/Wu Mianqiang
At present, domestic export containers are still very tight. In addition to the fact that container transportation has broken the original arrival and delivery balance level, the decline in container circulation speed and port congestion are also one of the main reasons.
As the "barometer" of global trade, containers have a complete set of operating procedures. According to people in the shipping industry, taking shipping as an example, the port terminal is a transfer station for containers. Export companies book space and containers from the freight forwarder. After passing through the export customs broker, the trailer fleet consisting of semi-trailers goes to the terminal and other yards to pick up containers After the container is filled with cargo, it is sent to the port terminal for export. After the liner arrives at the destination port with the container, the local cargo owner arranges customs clearance, picking up the container, unloading, and returning the container to the terminal yard. After waiting for the local export company to book, pick up the container and load the cargo, the container will be transferred back to China by liner.
However, the lingering epidemic has affected the efficiency of the above-mentioned container operations. Overseas epidemics have repeated, and the efficiency of local cargo owners in customs clearance, container picking and unloading is low. The relevant person in charge of the Guangdong small appliance export company previously interviewed by the 1℃ reporter said that their company's goods are in the ports of European and American countries .
Affected by the epidemic, many countries have experienced labor shortages, especially port operators, trailer truck drivers and related logistics personnel.
Master Sun, a truck driver picking up cargo at the Shenzhen container yard, told the 1℃ reporter that the company’s overseas business divisions had a "labor shortage". The United States had just finished Thanksgiving and will enter the Christmas season, which will further increase labor. tension.
The China Container Industry Association recently issued an "Action Initiative for Enterprises in the Container Industry Chain to Work Together to Stabilize Foreign Trade and Promote Growth", which stated that "Due to the increase in the number of infected people and the requirements of epidemic prevention measures, shippers (from across the ocean) cannot normally get from ports. The goods are shipped out of the cargo yard, and some goods are even rejected after arriving at the port. This has caused more and more containers to be piled up in disorder at the port. This disordered storage has caused the shipping company’s ships to be unable to dock and offshore on schedule. Affected the turnover efficiency of containers."
"From a global perspective, the supply chain of container transportation has slowed down. This is also one of the important factors that have caused global container tension." said Zhao, who has been in the shipping industry for more than ten years. Therefore, ports are definitely better than Congestion in the past was inevitable.
The prevention and control of the epidemic has also reduced the efficiency of domestic container operations. Lao Zhao recently told reporters at 1℃ that after the liner arrived at the domestic port, compared with the non-epidemic period, the quarantine process and procedures have increased. For example, the container needs to be disinfected, which leads to a longer time for customs clearance and unloading. "The crew cannot go ashore. It needs to be isolated and rotated first."
Port congestion will lead to adjustments in shipping schedules and affect the efficiency of container transportation. Since the third quarter of this year, the Ocean Network Express (ONE) of the TA Alliance has continued to update the schedule adjustment notice on its official website. The reporter at 1℃ found that most of the reasons were caused by port congestion.
From December 1st to 4th, ONE continuously issued more than 20 notices regarding the Shanghai Port shipping schedule changes or late opening notices, mostly due to "the effect of port congestion causing delays in shipping schedules." In the past November, there were more cases of ship delays due to port congestion. ONE is a Japanese container shipping company headquartered in Tokyo and Singapore. It was established as a joint venture by a Japanese shipping company in 2016, with a fleet of over one million TEUs.
"Once there is congestion in the port, the operation efficiency of containers will be low, which will further aggravate the tension of container use." Lao Zhao said.
As the international container ocean trunk transportation hub port in South China, Yantian Port is one of the world's largest single-handle container terminals. It mainly serves routes exported to Europe and the United States. Nearly 100 liner routes reach Europe, the United States and other regions every week. The 1℃ reporter found on the scene that the port was busy, and the gates were still slightly crowded. Many large trucks stopped at the door and waited for the relevant procedures to be completed, while the large trucks that had already lifted their cabinets slowly pulled out of the cracks.
Cost rises, logistics prices soar
The shortage of domestic export containers has caused the single-container market price to soar. As the order volume of container manufacturers increases, the cost of raw materials and labor has increased. In addition, the shortage of shipping space has further increased the cost of export containers for enterprises, increasing the logistics cost of the foreign trade industry and eroding the profits of export enterprises.
In fact, more than 90% of global containers are currently supplied by Chinese companies. According to the research report of Dongxing Securities, on the container production side, CIMC (CIMC, market share of 44%), Shanghai Universe (DFIC, market share of about 24%), and Xinhuachang (CXIC, market share About 13%), Singamas (about 3% market share) occupy most of the market share.
According to data released by the China Container Industry Association, there are three main types of container buyers. One is shipping companies, the other is container leasing companies, and the third is domestic railway and logistics companies . The third category accounts for a very low proportion, not exceeding all. 8% of annual container production and sales. The total production and sales of China's container manufacturers are between 2 million and 3 million TEU each year, and the storage of new containers accounts for 10%-20%.
1℃ reporters interviewed shipping companies and container manufacturing companies in many ways and learned that in the first five months of this year, China’s container manufacturers had almost no new orders. The pessimistic judgment of China has reduced liner shipping capacity and container procurement plans.
However, after June this year, my country's foreign trade quickly recovered. After the empty containers at the port were digested, the information of the lack of containers in the market was transmitted to the container manufacturers in mid-July, and orders continued to increase. "In September, our order volume has been scheduled to March next year." A person from CIMC Group who did not want to be named told 1℃ reporter.
"As a container equipment provider, we mainly produce according to shipping company orders. The shipping industry is currently booming and freight prices are rising. Therefore, shipowners and container leasing companies are also willing to purchase large quantities of containers." Liu Meng, a senior employee of a major domestic container manufacturer (Pseudonym) said.
Continued hot container production orders have caused the price of raw materials in the container supply chain to rise, including raw materials required for container production such as steel, wooden floors, and paint.
Insiders of Singamas Containers told 1℃ reporters that according to their understanding, steel, wood floors, and paint have all increased in varying degrees since the beginning of this year. "Compared with the off-season in the first half of this year, the price of steel has increased by about 10%, and the current average is more than 4,000 yuan per ton, and the wood floor has increased by 50% year-on-year." A relevant person in charge of a container manufacturer told 1℃ reporter.
The number of container floor sales is consistent with the trend of China's container export volume. In the raw material sector, the shortage of wood flooring is the most obvious, so prices have also increased significantly.
Kangxin New Material (600076.SH) is the only listed company in China that is mainly engaged in container floor panels. The company’s securities department confirmed that its finished product prices this year have exceeded the same period last year, "because of the increase in raw material and labor costs."
The main raw material of the container floor is logs. A domestic container bottom plate supplier told the 1℃ reporter that the current price of wood has increased significantly, and the purchase price of better poplar wood ranges from 800 to 1,000 yuan, which is more than 50% higher than when the market was normal. In the case of shortage, if the price is not increased, the timber merchant will not deliver the goods to the transaction."
The increase in supply chain costs has also driven up the selling prices of container products . A few days ago, a reporter from 1℃ asked CIMC insiders about the order status in the name of the leasing company. The salesperson of the other party said, “Orders are very slow now, and they need to wait until March next year to deliver them, mainly now (production orders). Don't go in."
The above-mentioned sales staff stated that the current order volume of the company is mainly unified at the head office level. “The selling price of 20-foot container (standard box) is now US$2,600, 40-foot container (high container) is US$4420, and 40-foot container (flat container) is 4210. Around the dollar."
Compared with last year, the price of new boxes between US$1600 and US$1700 has increased significantly. According to the research report of Dongxing Securities, in August this year, the price of a new container was only US$2,100.
"The epidemic is a double-edged sword, both an opportunity and a challenge." Recently, Lao Zhao said. Most of the foreign trade companies that have survived now have received many foreign orders, but at the same time they have encountered high freight costs caused by the shortage of containers and the shortage of space.
"Many of our company's customers, currently doing foreign trade orders, are not making enough money to pay for sea freight. Examples of this are everywhere. Even if they lose money, they still do it because they have a long-term vision and want to maintain good customers first. In the future, the freight rate will be lowered and then the profits will be made back." A business executive who has been a freight forwarder in East China for 10 years told 1℃ reporter.
I dare not rush to expand production after receiving orders in the first quarter of next year
On the evening of December 2, a 1℃ reporter came to the container production workshop of Dongguan South CIMC Logistics Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "South CIMC"), a subsidiary of CIMC Group, Fenggang Town, Dongguan City. A scene in full swing.
This is one of the largest container production bases in the country, and it is said that 1 out of every 10 containers in the world goes to sea here.
Worker Master Wang (pseudonym) had just left work and was riding a battery car to go home. He told the 1℃ reporter that the factory orders are currently full and he worked 11 hours that day. "Our factory is now operating in two shifts and is producing at full capacity," a person close to Southern CIMC told 1℃ reporter.
Since the third quarter of this year, as CIMC's order volume continues to increase, Master Wang has many colleagues who come to help temporarily. The 1℃ reporter learned during an interview with Southern CIMC that the plant has added many new temporary workers this year. “Most of them are labor dispatch employees, and the average daily salary of each person is 300 yuan, which is tens of thousands of yuan a month.” A labor dispatch company who recruited welders in a container factory of CIMC Group introduced.
"The main reason is that the container manufacturing industry is deeply affected by the shipping industry. When the market is good, the number of orders will increase, and if the production is at full capacity, there will be a shortage of manpower; when the market is not good, the number of orders will decrease, and manpower will be sufficient or even surplus. "The above-mentioned CIMC insider told the 1℃ reporter that many CIMC people (employees) still have fresh memories of the experience that factories were shut down during the financial crisis in 2008 and that they were looking forward to working at home.
On December 3, regarding the current shortage of containers and soaring freight rates in the field of foreign trade and logistics, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce Gao Feng said that on the basis of the preliminary work, the Ministry of Commerce will continue to promote the increase of capacity and support the acceleration Container return transportation, improve operation efficiency, support container manufacturing enterprises to expand production capacity, and at the same time increase the intensity of market supervision, strive to stabilize market prices, and provide strong logistics support for the stable development of foreign trade.
Recently, the China Container Industry Association has also issued an initiative to "advocate container industry chain enterprises to actively invest in stabilizing foreign trade", and strive to improve the efficiency of international container turnover. Production-related enterprises should continue to improve production efficiency, continue to tap potential production capacity, and improve process equipment. Increase the number of workers, improve their labor skills, and make every effort to ensure that new box orders are delivered as soon as possible.
Affected by the current shipping situation, many large domestic container manufacturing companies are making every effort to ensure the delivery of new container orders as soon as possible to escort foreign trade exports, while also considering the future balance of supply and demand in the global container market.
In fact, the container manufacturing and sales industry and the development of the shipping industry share each other. Nowadays, aspects of container production enterprises are operating at full capacity ensure market supply; on the other hand below the epidemic, we still dare to expand production capacity.
People in the shipping industry predict that the shortage of containers will continue until the first quarter of 2021. Therefore, there are already large domestic container companies that dare not rush to take orders for the second quarter of next year.
"The main reason is that I dare not judge the future market prospects." Liu Meng told the 1℃ reporter that the current epidemic situation continues and container manufacturers are also worried that after receiving external orders, they cannot judge the future market development. If the order is received first next year Quarterly, the supply can be guaranteed, and the market will not be turbulent at the same time, so everyone hopes to have such a steady move.
"Now that the market is in short supply, we can completely launch capacity projects, purchase equipment, and let workers work overtime to produce, but in the long run, this will break the balance of supply and demand in the global container market." Liu Meng said that the demand for containers in global trade is only There are several million TEUs, once container overcapacity occurs, it will be a serious problem.
The current life span of containers is 10-15 years. "After the rapid one-time release of production capacity, what about next year or the next year? The development of the industrial chain still requires a long stream of water." Liu Meng told the 1℃ reporter.
The sky-high freight rates, and the hot availability of space and empty containers, are forcing freight forwarding logistics companies to charter ships and open shipping routes.
Last week, it was reported on Souhang.com that freight forwarding giant DSV Panalpina bypassed the shipping company and leased three ships and a batch of empty containers to open a new China-Denmark route. The latest news is that another freight logistics company giant DHL Global Forwarding also Is considering stepping in.
Dominique von Orelli, executive vice president of DHL Global Forwarding, confirmed to the media that the company is evaluating charter plans.
DHL considers chartering for customers
A large freight forwarding company considered direct control of ship assets, but actually entered an industry that is different from its core business in terms of operation and culture. On the other hand, it also shows how popular it is to ship containers from Asia to Europe and North America. And freight forwarders desperately provide customers with adequate services.
"There may be more freight forwarders to follow suit ." Anil Vitarana, former president of United Arab Shipping, said in a post on LinkedIn.
"If there is a continuing shortage of ship capacity and containers, and major logistics providers and 3PL find it feasible to use internal resources to integrate the economic benefits of the entire supply chain, shipping companies may regret the beginning of this trend." Vitarana wrote.
He added that the logistics provider/third-party logistics provider (3PL) team includes former executives of the shipping company and can help his current employer provide the services provided by the shipping company.
Vitarana also stated that shipping companies can also cooperate with 3PL to improve service capabilities. He pointed out that CMA CGM acquired CEVA Logistics in 2019 and Maersk included DAMCO in its integrator strategy, which has further promoted the supply chain solutions of shipping companies. Program.
But not all freight forwarders consider it necessary to provide shipping services to customers.
Two other large freight forwarders, Kuehne + Nagel and DB Schenker, said that although the container market is extremely tight, they do not think such a move is necessary.
Freight forwarding giant Kuehne + Nagel expressed confidence in products based on digital solutions and cooperative relationships with shipping companies, able to provide services to customers, and will continue to provide leasing services for project cargo, rather than container customers.
DB Schenker does not believe that chartering is one of the solutions for capacity. The current shortage of ships and chartering costs have also increased. Alphaliner, a maritime analysis agency, pointed out in mid-November that most ship charters are tight. The daily charter price of 3,000-3,500 TEU ships is US$18,000, an increase of US$2,000 from the end of October.
Thorsten Meincke, DB Schenker's board member responsible for air and ocean freight, said that the resources needed to charter and manage ships are often underestimated, which will distract attention from the reliable and robust services provided by freight forwarders.
"Once you have ship assets, you have to fill them up. This will become your focus, rather than providing customers with the best solutions," Meincke said. "The current challenge facing the maritime market is largely the shortage of containers, not just the space of ships."
Indeed, other sources also believe that despite Maersk’s efforts to redefine its business model by integrating traditional shipping and freight functions, there are still huge differences in operations and culture between freight forwarders and shipping companies.
Ship asset owners must keep their ships full and require functions and costs such as ship planning and container repositioning, and freight forwarders usually rarely consider these daily affairs.
In addition, the source said that the shipping capacity chartered by DSV is small, and its cost is far from competitive with ships of 20,000 TEU or more that travel between Asia and Europe. This is why freight forwarding and shipping are almost always in different organizations, even in larger shipping companies.
In recent months, the container market has experienced extreme conditions. High freight rates and container shortages have plagued the market and will continue for some time. In addition to the short plug of the reefer, the import and export of the reefer will also be a new challenge.
Large companies and logistics companies that need to ship refrigerated goods must be prepared, and shipping companies have announced that they will stop receiving freezers.
It is reported that the shipping company Hapag-Lloyd announced that it will suspend all 40' freezer bookings in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and the Czech Republic until the end of December 2020.
"Our goal is to support all confirmed export orders, but reservations may be cancelled for individual cases. We will try our best to provide all customers with the best service, but we expect that the situation will remain very tense in the coming weeks." Herb Roth wrote in a statement.
"This once again shows that the market is facing severe container equipment challenges. This is a prominent problem that affects the supply chain in many places, not just the supply chain in Asia." Shipping analyst and chief executive of Sea-Intelligence Consulting Officer Lars Jensen said.
In addition to Europe, Hapag-Lloyd announced on December 3 that the port was congested due to stricter customs inspection and disinfection of imported food entering Huangpu. From now on, we will temporarily stop accepting reservations for refrigerated containers entering Huangpu Port in China until further notice.
In view of the above situation, customers are kindly requested to provide written confirmation as soon as possible. You can have the following options:
(1) If circumstances permit, accept delivery at the current port of discharge;
(2) Transfer your refrigerated container to another port/destination;
(3) Transport your refrigerated container back to the port of departure;
(4) If there is no instruction from the customer, Hapag-Lloyd reserves the right to make all necessary arrangements.
Please note that for any of the above options, all additional costs, risks and liabilities related to storage or transportation of the goods after unloading will be borne by the owner of the goods.
At the same time, Hapag-Lloyd also announced that it will temporarily stop receiving orders for imported reefer containers from Busan, South Korea to Tianjin, China , with immediate effect.
In addition, my country has recently increased its inspection of imported refrigerated goods, making the inspection of refrigerated goods more stringent and time-consuming. Ports are facing problems such as slow pickup of containers and port congestion.
Ocean Network ONE stated in the announcement that it will suspend the delivery of refrigerated containers to Huangpu Port from November 26. In addition to the latest announcement of ONE, Xiamen, Fuzhou and Fuqing have also suspended receiving imported refrigerated containers.
ONE stated that due to the stricter inspection and disinfection requirements imposed by customs on refrigerated containers imported into Xiamen/Fuzhou/Fuqing, the delivery of freezer containers has been slow and is facing congestion.
In view of this situation, from the date of shipment on December 8, 2020, ONE will stop accepting all orders for refrigerated goods destined for Fuzhou and Fuqing, China , until further notice.
Starting from the loading date on December 9, 2020, ONE will stop accepting all reservations for refrigerated cargo to Xiamen, China or for transshipment via Xiamen , until further notice.
▲ONE announcement
For containers in transit, ONE strongly recommends that customers consider changing the destination to another port, especially for time-sensitive goods, such as fresh and refrigerated goods.
For refrigerated containers that have been transshipped to Xiamen, or refrigerated containers that have been detained at the transshipment port for further transportation to Xiamen, please note that all related expenses will be borne by the consignee and paid upon delivery.
For containers that have been transshipped to Fuzhou/Fuqing or detained at a transit port, once the Fuzhou/Fuqing feeder space is available, a specific surcharge will be charged at the time of loading.
