After the interview with the Ministry of Communications of China, the United States warned that such US shipping companies would be sent to court!
Recently, the skyrocketing price of container shipping on the U.S. line has attracted special attention, and the relevant government regulatory agencies have also taken action. FMC has issued a warning to liner companies that “conspiracy” is seen by the court!
▍U.S. shipping prices hit an 8-year high, making it difficult to book containers
September is the peak season for shipping on the Pacific Ocean shipping route, and the container throughput of many ports hit a record high in a single month. In this context, the price of container shipping on US routes has skyrocketed to a high in the past eight years, doubling the rate at the beginning of this year.
According to data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, as of September 11, the Shanghai Export Container Freight Index for West Coast Routes in the United States was reported at US$3,813. Compared with the freight rate of a week ago, each container has risen by US$55, which has increased from the beginning of the year. The freight index of the US East Coast route was 4,534 US dollars, an increase of about 77% compared with the beginning of the year.
▲ CCTV Finance "Punctual Finance" report
Many freight forwarding companies report that the current high freight rates on US routes make it difficult to book space. The box rejection rate is 13% and 14%, mainly because the shipping company's capacity cannot meet the sudden increase in shipping demand.
This is just a microcosm of the bizarre skyrocketing global shipping costs. According to the latest monthly report on the export container shipping market of the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, the demand for transportation in the market performed well in August. Even though some shipping companies are gradually restoring the supply of capacity, the lack of space has not been fully alleviated, and the phenomenon of cargo dumping frequently occurs on some routes.
▍The Federal Maritime Commission issued a warning after investigating the skyrocketing freight
In recent months, the freight rates between Asia and the east and west coasts of the United States have reached a record high. Previously, the US Federal Maritime Commission FMC has carried out multi-dimensional monitoring of major alliances, including the proportion of suspended shipping power and suspension schedule. The minutes of the relevant ship deployment meeting even require that the suspension plan must be reported 15 days in advance, and warned that if necessary, a prohibition order will be issued on the suspension!
On September 16, the commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission held a private meeting and issued a warning to the container shipping company, saying that if there is evidence that there is collusion in trans-Pacific trade, it will bring a lawsuit to the Federal Court.
▲FMC announcement
The US Federal Maritime Commission stated that it is investigating possible violations of competition laws.
"If there is any indication that the carrier's actions may violate the competition standards in Article 6(g) of the Shipping Law, the committee will immediately seek to resolve these issues with the carrier."
"If necessary, FMC will seek an injunction from the Federal Court to prohibit the further operation of non-compliant alliance agreements," adding that it has "intensified the review of the market, individual shipping companies and the three major shipping alliances."
The US Federal Maritime Commission said it has received "detailed reports" concerning spot freight prices, long-term service contracts, equipment usage, suspension of flights, revenue trends, and service change policies of individual carriers and shipping alliances.
FMC also particularly emphasized that liner companies must provide instructions to FMC before suspending or adjusting routes.
And added: “FMC is using various sources and markings to actively monitor any potential impact on freight rates and transportation service levels, including detailed information that the parties to the carrier agreement must submit to the regulatory agency.”
▍China's Ministry of Communications will strengthen the supervision of shipping tariffs, Chinese-funded airlines will increase capacity to stabilize freight
The continuous and violent increase in shipping rates between China and the United States has aroused the attention of regulatory authorities. Following the inquiry, the Ministry of Transport has recently interviewed all container shipping companies operating China-US routes.
Sources close to the talks revealed that the Ministry of Transport will impose strong supervision on China-US routes, requiring the implementation of freight filing and standardization, capacity, routes and schedules must be filed, shipping companies designated freight and all additional charges must be standardized and reasonable , Need to file for detailed description.
Last month, regarding the large fluctuations in freight rates of China-US and other routes, the Water Transport Bureau of the Ministry of Transport also sent letters to six shipping companies to provide: a table of relevant information on China-US and China-Europe routes, and recent freight rates of China-US and China-Europe routes Analysis of the causes of fluctuations and the next step.
At present, it seems that some shipping companies have begun to follow the warnings of FMC and the Ministry of Transport of China to adjust GRI and trans-Pacific freight rates.
This week, the Ocean Alliance member Orient Overseas (OOCL) announced that it will resume six of the nine suspensions for trans-Pacific voyages.
