News / Indian importers face freight rate hike shock out of Asia

© Elkov Oleg |

Indian importers relying on Asia-made goods, particularly out of China, are facing another round of container freight rate shocks, reflecting how volatile market conditions are.

Spot rates on intra-Asia-India trades have more than doubled over the last month or so, according to market data.

For example, ocean carriers are selling space out of Shanghai for bookings to Nhava Sheva at $1,600 per teu and $1,900 per feu, up from $800 and $900 a month ago.

Rates from other Asian ports to India have also strengthened dramatically, with Singapore-Nhava Sheva loads moving at $1,250 per teu and $1,550 per feu, versus the mid-October averages of $700 and $1,000, respectively.

For Hong Kong-Nhava Sheva bookings, rates have climbed to $1,600 per teu and $1,900 per feu, doubling from the late-October levels.

“Ocean rates from the Far East to India are again on the rise,” a Mumbai-based shipper told The Loadstar.  “Our load port agents are not finding enough vessel space,” the source added.

According to industry sources, there has been a marked shortage of capacity in the Asia-India market over the past two weeks, after many regional and mainline carriers, who had opportunistically deployed extra tonnage to capitalise on the China export rush earlier, repositioned vessels elsewhere, with some phased into Red Sea/Mediterranean trades.

Making that concern more pronounced, CMA CGM has notified Indian customers of three upcoming blank sailings on its AS9 (Asia-Subcontinent Express) service in December, including the Zhong Gu Nan Ning, ONE Matrix and TS Keelung.

“Customers are requested plan their shipments accordingly,” CMA CGM (India) said in an advisory.

CMA CGM’s AS6 service, another intra-Asia operation it manages through slot space acquired from Cosco, is also set to skip India’s Pipavav port and Hong Kong on its current eastbound voyage.

“Shipments already booked for Pipavav or Hong Kong [on the Xin Beijing] will be rolled over to the next vessel,” the Marseille-based carrier told customers.

Historically, Asian markets contribute the bulk of Indian imports, both for industrial and consumer goods.  Additionally, the flow of Indian sourcing generally ticks up in the second half of the year due to the local festival-linked demand.

Meanwhile, Indian merchandise export trade saw strong gains in October, presenting fresh hopeful signs for industry stakeholders and policymakers. The overall outbound trade for the month by value surged 17% year-on-year, the fastest growth in more than a year, according to the latest provisional data.

“Such an impressive double-digit growth in merchandise exports, amidst continuing global economic uncertainties, is definitely an encouraging sign of revival,” said Ashwani Kumar, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), in a statement.

The uptick in Indian apparel trade, amid the turmoil plaguing Bangladesh industry verticals, could have, in some part, propelled that elevated export performance, industry sources believe.

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