A British freight forwarder said that the speed and pace of these changes are shocking, once again reproducing the tense situation during the peak of the epidemic. The freight forwarder warned that the shipping company cancelled the FAK rate quotation during booking and is also reducing the contracted capacity.
“The current situation is a nightmare for importers,” the freight forwarder described. “Demand is rising, and our customer base has grown by 10-20% year-on-year. Either customers are restocking, or due to the longer transportation time around the Cape of Good Hope, an additional two weeks of transportation buffer inventory are needed.”
Maersk CEO Ke Wensheng revealed during a recent Q1 earnings conference call with analysts that European importers have now entered a period of restocking. During this period, the freight volume of Maersk’s European routes increased by 9%.
Ke Wensheng explained that this growth was due to the potentially unfavorable macroeconomic environment in Europe last year, which led to a reduction in inventory. As we enter a new year and continue to grow in consumption, European importers have now entered a restocking period.