12 April 2024 Windward
It appears that the Baltimore crisis is starting to impact global trade. According to Freightos data displayed in Windward Port Insights, shipping prices from the U.S.’ East Coast to East Asia increased by 80% to $1,214. Although the increase began around the middle of March, the sharpest incline happened around the last week of March. The Baltimore accident occurred on March 26.
The increase in shipping prices is not occurring in a vacuum. The already busy route from the U.S. East Coast and Central America, via The Cape of Good Hope to East Asia, has seen enormous growth of containerized traffic due to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
The monthly average of container vessels sailing the route of the U.S. East Coast to China increased by 36% when comparing Q4 2023 to Q1 2024. The opposite direction, from China to the U.S. East Coast, also shows a great increase. The monthly average of container vessels sailing this route was 1.1 in 2023. In Q1 of 2024, the monthly average increased by 627% (!).
A new oceanic area experiencing significant growth in container vessel traffic is the South Atlantic Ocean. Windward data reveals that between November 2023 and March 2024, there was a 170% increase in container vessel traffic in the South Atlantic Ocean.
For more on the growing volatility in North America, click below to read the full report:
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