“VNA” reported on December 10 that the end of the year is the time for companies to speed up exports and serve consumer demand for Christmas and New Year’s Day. However, almost all export industries in Vietnam have encountered common problems. Problems such as the lack of empty containers for loading and skyrocketing shipping prices have worried many companies.
According to a survey by the Vietnam Logistics Service Enterprises Association, nearly 40% of companies said they encountered the problem of no empty containers. The company said that the shortage of boxes started in September and became more serious as it neared the end of the year. Shipping prices have also skyrocketed 4-5 times. The usual price of a 20-foot container in the United States is US$800-900/unit, but now it has risen to US$3,300/unit, and the price in Germany has risen to US$6,000/unit, and no empty container can be found.
In addition, companies cannot wait for empty containers, and the goods are kept in warehouses or stranded at ports waiting for packing, which will incur costs and affect the quality of the goods. Some companies struggled to maintain operations during the COVID-19 epidemic. They finally waited until the epidemic improved and wanted to speed up exports, but they encountered transportation problems. The company finally secured a warehouse, but was told that there were no empty boxes. Logistics companies said that currently it is not one shipping company or one route that is short of boxes, but all shipping companies and all routes are short of boxes, so companies can only wait.
Many companies said that there has never been such a serious shortage of boxes as now. As shipping companies continue to raise freight rates, companies must scramble to get containers to load their goods.
The price changes every day, and even if there are no empty boxes, the price can double every other week. If this situation continues, Vietnamese businesses will be unable to export, which is the time to speed up exports to boost annual revenue.
Currently, exporters can only wait in line to load empty containers based on shipping company quotations, and there is no room for negotiation. This situation will greatly affect the flow of goods and export volume. And most shipping companies are foreign, so companies don’t know who to turn to.
CMACGM Vietnam Company stated that this situation does not only happen in Vietnam, but all countries in the world are experiencing the same difficulties due to the impact of the new crown epidemic. After being interrupted for a long time, export companies concentrated on delivering orders that had been postponed before. There were not many containers for loading and importing into Vietnam, resulting in a shortage of empty containers.
On the other hand, China’s major ports have so far served as transshipment ports for cargo from regional countries to other continents, especially the United States. However, due to the trade friction between China and the United States in the past period, the export of goods from China to the United States has not been smooth. This has caused sellers in the region to shift their transshipment locations to Vietnam and then export to the United States and other markets, resulting in increased demand for empty containers in Vietnam. .
As for freight, due to epidemic prevention requirements, goods, containers, and ships entering and leaving the port must be disinfected and monitored, resulting in a slight increase in costs. In terms of container leasing, due to strong customer demand, shipping companies must also adjust prices according to market mechanisms.
3 months ago, the price of a 20-foot container from Vietnam to China ranged from 5-10 US dollars, and now shipping companies are quoting more than 150 US dollars. The freight to India and the Middle East increased from US$200-300/container to US$1,500. At the same time, prices are increasingly rising in other regions such as Europe and the United States, a situation unprecedented in the shipping industry in decades.
At the same time, some logistics service companies believe that shipping companies may take advantage of the post-epidemic cargo congestion situation and simultaneously raise freight and container rental fees to make up for the disruption to shipping caused by the epidemic. loss.
Logistics services companies predict that container shortages and freight increases may continue until the end of the first quarter of 2021, when market demand for goods will decline after the holidays.
