French container giant CMA CGM expects ocean freight rates to fall across the board as demand softens, and logistical bottlenecks in some regions will be eased.
Rodolphe Saade, chief executive of CMA CGM, said on Friday (26th): “Freight rates have been declining in almost all regions in the past few weeks, and we expect this to continue, not by a significant amount, but by a soft landing. .”
His observations echo those made this week by the World Trade Organization (WTO), which said trade flows in goods slowed last quarter and the weakness is likely to persist into the second half of the year.
The pent-up demand for commodities during the epidemic has erupted after countries have successively unblocked, and the surge in transportation demand has caused the world to fall into the predicament of high freight rates and manpower shortages for about two years. Now with the slowdown in trade, the maritime industry bubble is expected to come to an end.
At the height of the crisis, container shipping across China and Northern Europe was $14,000 per FEU (40 feet), and now it’s down to about $9,000 and continues to decline, Saade said.
He said: “Even though it is still difficult to manage in some places, the demand is decreasing, which has brought some relief to the port intrusion problem.” He said that there are still serious port intrusion problems in some parts of Europe and the United States, causing some problems to the global supply chain network. interference.
Saade will soon accompany French President Emmanuel Macron to Algeria on a three-day official visit. CMA CGM has been operating in the country for more than 20 years and is exploring more development opportunities related to ports and logistics.