US retail sales in January rose by 4.4% this year from last year, hitting USD 540.7 billion. This is the lowest since February 2022. The below-inflation growth (which stood at 6.4% in January) means the volume of retail trade has fallen, explaining the drop in US container demand. Full-year data for 2022 shows that total US container imports fell by 5.5%.
Market Analysis
Container Shipping Market Trends | February, 2023
February 2023 Container Shipping Trends Summary
Biggest month-on-month drop for the global XSI®
Compared to January 2022, the global XSI® is up by 52.7% and compared to January 2020, it is up by 316.4%.
The much bigger drop in January compared to December can be attributed to the larger number of older contracts expiring and new contracts entering validity.
The global XSI® posted its biggest ever month-on-month drop on record in Jan 2023. It fell by 13.3% from December, down to 364.15 points, making it the fifth month in a row of falling prices on the index. With little sign of change ahead, this will be a challenging year for the carriers. January’s decline marks a significant increase in the pace of decline since December's 0.1% drop in prices. But, as Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund explains, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Continue Reading
Market Observations | January 30, 2023
iXRT Market News: Week of Jan. 30th
Poor market conditions continue. The start of the Chinese Year of the Rabbit has failed to provide a much-needed bounce for carriers as poor market conditions have continued, resulting in the highest number of blanked sailings for many months. Almost two-thirds of capacity on the Far East to US West Coast trade was affected as blanked sailings reached nearly 200 000 TEU this week, totaling 60.9% of the announced figure. Continue Reading
Xeneta On-Demand Air Webinar | February 17, 2023
How Will Shifts in the Global Economy Wreak Havoc on Your Air Freight?
Fasten your seatbelts because we are off to a bumpy ride in the air freight market! A turbulent 2022 for the global air freight market eased at the end of the year, but we are not out of the woods yet. With inflation rates elevated and consumer demand stagnant, the air freight market continues to weaken. By mid-Jan, rates were down –14% YoY, thanks to the bounce-back of cargo capacity from belly hold on passenger flights. Watch Now
Ocean Freight Contract Rates Nearing Spot Market Levels on Some Major Trades
The premium paid by shippers contracting on the long term instead of the spot market has fallen dramatically on several major trades in just a couple of months. On five major trades out of the Far East, the average spot rate is now ‘just ‘ USD 810 per FEU lower than the average long-term rate, down from close to USD 3 900 per FEU just two months ago in mid-December. Continue Reading
Webinar / Events
TPM23 and TPM Tech | February 26, 2023
Join us for a Whiskey Night With Xeneta!
Meet us at The Stave Bar for a night full of whiskey, networking and container shipping talk. No cash required, this get together is on us. Stop by, have some free drinks (over 250 brands to try) and start off TPM23 the right way. You know what they always say: with whiskey, long-term is best, but the same isn't true for ocean freight contracts. RSVP Now
Customer Ocean Webinar | March 29, 2023
March '23 Freight Market Pulse
In this month’s Customer Webinar, CEO and Co-Founder, Patrik Berglund and Vice President of Customer Solutions, Michael Braun will will be joined by a special guest, customer, Samuel Mensah of Kingfisher. The Xeneta hosts will give updates on critical market movements and speak with Sam on how Kingfisher has approached their carrier relationship differently than most, yet still maximized value from carriers, with the use of Xeneta data. Register now
