Analysis of International Shipping in 2021
At a routine press conference held recently, Sun Wenjian, spokesperson of the Ministry of Transport, responded to the problems of the continuous increase in ocean freight rates, lack of containers, and lack of space in the first half of this year.
At the press conference, a reporter asked: "In the first half of this year, the international container liner market is very hot. It is difficult to find one cabin, one container is hard to find, and freight rates continue to rise. Can you elaborate on the Ministry of Transport's response to this?"
Sun Wenjian said that after various efforts, the number of spaces invested by major liner companies in the first half of this year has increased significantly.
Among them, the capacity of North American routes increased by 55% over the same period in 2020, and the capacity of European routes increased by 30%. In June, the shortage of empty containers in my country's major ports was 1.4%, a decrease of 12.2 percentage points from the beginning of the year.
"This shows that the shortage of empty containers has been effectively alleviated." Sun Wenjian believes.
At the same time, in the first half of this year, my country's total import and export value of goods trade was 18.07 trillion yuan, an increase of 27.1% and 22.8% over the same period in 2020 and 2019. Among them, exports were 9.85 trillion yuan, an increase of 28.1% and 23.8% over the same period in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
The above data shows that my country's foreign trade situation continues to improve, and at the same time, it has also promoted a substantial increase in the demand for international container transportation.
The repeated epidemics abroad have led to poor international logistics supply chains, reduced transportation efficiency, and supply of ships and empty containers in short supply. Especially since April, due to the Suez Canal obstruction and the outbreak of the epidemic in some countries, the capacity of major routes, including my country, has continued to be tight, and the supply and demand of capacity have become severely unbalanced, making freight rate increases a global phenomenon.
"At present, the freight rates of major routes in most neighboring countries are higher than ours." Sun Wenjian said.
Sun Wenjian further introduced that in response to the many problems currently faced by the maritime industry, the Ministry of Transport has taken measures in conjunction with the Ministry of Commerce and other ministries to ensure the smooth flow of my country's maritime transport. Specific measures include:
One is to prevent the epidemic. Strictly implement the requirements of "foreign defense import", and guide the local transportation authorities to coordinate the work related to epidemic prevention and control and to ensure smooth traffic.
The second is to improve efficiency. Actively guide international liner companies to increase the capacity and container supply of China's mainland export routes, and improve the efficiency of container transportation. Among them, in the first half of this year, the capacity of the North American route reached 6.88 million TEUs, an increase of 55% and 26% over 2020 and 2019 respectively; the capacity of the European route reached 4.3 million TEUs, an increase of 30% over the same period in 2020 and 2019. And 7%. At the same time, liner companies are encouraged to use general cargo ships, special ships and other transport containers to increase the supply of transport capacity while meeting safety requirements.
The third is to increase production capacity. Actively cooperate with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to coordinate my country's box-making enterprises to increase their productivity. At present, the monthly production capacity of my country's containers has increased from 200,000 TEUs in the past to more than 500,000 TEUs, the highest in history. In June, the shortage of empty containers in my country's major ports was 1.4%, a decrease of 12.2 percentage points from the beginning of the year.
The fourth is strong cooperation. Promote the strengthening of cooperation between port and shipping enterprises and import and export enterprises. Encourage liner companies to actively sign long-term transportation contracts with cargo owners to provide stable supply chain service guarantees. In order to respond to the transportation needs of small and medium customers, coordinate active services such as COSCO SHIPPING Group, and provide special transportation services for small and medium cargo owners through the opening of multiple service lines.
Sun Wenjian also said that in the next step, the Ministry of Transport will continue to work with the Ministry of Commerce and other departments to implement measures related to stabilizing foreign trade to ensure the stability and smooth flow of the international logistics supply chain.
At the press conference, a reporter asked: "In the first half of this year, the international container liner market is very hot. It is difficult to find one cabin, one container is hard to find, and freight rates continue to rise. Can you elaborate on the Ministry of Transport's response to this?"
Sun Wenjian said that after various efforts, the number of spaces invested by major liner companies in the first half of this year has increased significantly.
Among them, the capacity of North American routes increased by 55% over the same period in 2020, and the capacity of European routes increased by 30%. In June, the shortage of empty containers in my country's major ports was 1.4%, a decrease of 12.2 percentage points from the beginning of the year.
"This shows that the shortage of empty containers has been effectively alleviated." Sun Wenjian believes.
At the same time, in the first half of this year, my country's total import and export value of goods trade was 18.07 trillion yuan, an increase of 27.1% and 22.8% over the same period in 2020 and 2019. Among them, exports were 9.85 trillion yuan, an increase of 28.1% and 23.8% over the same period in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
The above data shows that my country's foreign trade situation continues to improve, and at the same time, it has also promoted a substantial increase in the demand for international container transportation.
The repeated epidemics abroad have led to poor international logistics supply chains, reduced transportation efficiency, and supply of ships and empty containers in short supply. Especially since April, due to the Suez Canal obstruction and the outbreak of the epidemic in some countries, the capacity of major routes, including my country, has continued to be tight, and the supply and demand of capacity have become severely unbalanced, making freight rate increases a global phenomenon.
"At present, the freight rates of major routes in most neighboring countries are higher than ours." Sun Wenjian said.
Sun Wenjian further introduced that in response to the many problems currently faced by the maritime industry, the Ministry of Transport has taken measures in conjunction with the Ministry of Commerce and other ministries to ensure the smooth flow of my country's maritime transport. Specific measures include:
One is to prevent the epidemic. Strictly implement the requirements of "foreign defense import", and guide the local transportation authorities to coordinate the work related to epidemic prevention and control and to ensure smooth traffic.
The second is to improve efficiency. Actively guide international liner companies to increase the capacity and container supply of China's mainland export routes, and improve the efficiency of container transportation. Among them, in the first half of this year, the capacity of the North American route reached 6.88 million TEUs, an increase of 55% and 26% over 2020 and 2019 respectively; the capacity of the European route reached 4.3 million TEUs, an increase of 30% over the same period in 2020 and 2019. And 7%. At the same time, liner companies are encouraged to use general cargo ships, special ships and other transport containers to increase the supply of transport capacity while meeting safety requirements.
The third is to increase production capacity. Actively cooperate with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to coordinate my country's box-making enterprises to increase their productivity. At present, the monthly production capacity of my country's containers has increased from 200,000 TEUs in the past to more than 500,000 TEUs, the highest in history. In June, the shortage of empty containers in my country's major ports was 1.4%, a decrease of 12.2 percentage points from the beginning of the year.
The fourth is strong cooperation. Promote the strengthening of cooperation between port and shipping enterprises and import and export enterprises. Encourage liner companies to actively sign long-term transportation contracts with cargo owners to provide stable supply chain service guarantees. In order to respond to the transportation needs of small and medium customers, coordinate active services such as COSCO SHIPPING Group, and provide special transportation services for small and medium cargo owners through the opening of multiple service lines.
Sun Wenjian also said that in the next step, the Ministry of Transport will continue to work with the Ministry of Commerce and other departments to implement measures related to stabilizing foreign trade to ensure the stability and smooth flow of the international logistics supply chain.
