News / Ocean rates ex-Asia under pressure, while PSSs return to the transatlantic

Container freight rates from Asia are expected to come under renewed pressure in the usual soft-demand period following the Chinese New Year.

However, with spot rates on the transpacific and Asia-North Europe tradelanes having already plummeted below break-even levels, ocean carriers will not hesitate to blank sailings with little or no notice – over and above those already announced – if potential utilisation levels dip below a minimum.

The proactive blanking strategy achieved some success on the Asia-North Europe trade before the ...