Ocean bookings from China to the United States are in heavy decline, which will come as little surprise to most following the recent tit-for-tat tariff increases.
Steamship lines have been witnessing an enourmous reduction in bookings and hundreds of cancellations on advanced bookings. At least three transpacific service loops have been cancelled indefinitely and numerous blanked sailings are being introduced with little notice.
China’s US export container bookings are reportedly down between 30% and 60% depending on who you believe, although a report published on CNBC’s website suggests that US imports from China fell by 64% between weeks 14 and 15.
Other Asian countries have seen their exports fall by between 10% and 20%, but some Asian exporters will likely look to beat Trump’s 90-day postponement of higher tariffs during the next few weeks.
There may be a small recovery from the temporary exemption of certain consumer electronics from China, which are currently being imported at the 10% baseline duty rate until further notice.
Steamship lines are facing a chaotic situation while the US taxes Chinese imports by 145% and China taxes American imports by 125%.
Unless the trade war is resolved, shipping lines will be faced with the unenviable task of significantly cutting or realigning the huge capacity they have covering the world’s largest trading route.
Where capacity will end up is debatable and could have a significant impact on Asia/European and global services.
For now, we are still very hoping that common-sense prevails. The team at Killick Martin are monitoring developments very closely.
