Sea freight rates could ride crest of looming US port strike to reverse slide
A strike in the US East and Gulf-Coast ports could hit more than half of US imports and 15 per cent of the global container fleet capacity, HSBC says
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OCEAN freight rates have been on a steady slide, but events in the US might just kickstart a reversal. Market watchers are warning that a scheduled port strike on the US East Coast is expected to put upward pressure on rates in the short term, particularly, if the industrial action runs into weeks.
Already, carriers have announced that they would impose “disruption surcharges” in view of the labour walkout.
The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index has been on a decline since June, except for a brief respite in mid-July. The index covers 13 export trades out of Shanghai, and is the world’s most widely used index for spot market ocean-freight rates for Chinese imports.
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