Trans-Pacific Maritime Rates

The 14^th Annual Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference was held last week. Hundreds of people in the logistics industry attended. There were numerous topics for discussion during this important event. The experts at the conference discussed solutions to alleviate container terminal congestion, the expanding US import market for 2014 and questions for outsourcing businesses. One message that came up during the Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference this year revolved around ocean freight shipping rates. The general consensus was that container-shipping prices from the Far East to Los Angeles are currently low, and are anticipated to be low until 2016. When comparing those current rates with the same rates from this season a few years ago, the rates were actually lower now.

Shippers might be curious why some of these shipping rates, including ones from Asia to the US, might be lower. There are numerous reasons for this. The big reason is because the carriers have been replacing older and smaller vessels with newly constructed large vessels that can hold more cargo. Since the vessels can hold more cargo, this increases efficiency per trip and thus expenses are down. Since the expenses are down, the rates will also go down as well. It should be noted that although some rates are lower now, the shipping demand is still down as well, and demand could impact rates in the future.

To learn more about shipping possibilities in the Trans-Pacific market, speak to a trusted freight forwarder who coordinates daily shipments in that region of the World.