According to Freight Forwarding Company of Chinese Taiwan, it received a special freight rate for the America west route of Wanhai Shipping, with a shock price of US$5,200 per large container (40-foot container), and the effective date is from the 12th to the 31st of this month. A large freight forwarding company pointed out that the price of the top three container shipping companies in the online booking has fallen below 6,000 US dollars to 5,700-5,800 US dollars this month. However, the freight rates in the east of the United States and inland are still maintained at a high level due to port congestion and land transportation problems.

The latest Shanghai Shipping Exchange Container Freight Index (SCFI) shows that the freight rate of the US West Line is US$6,499/FEU. Industry insiders pointed out that this is the average of the long-term agreement price and the spot price. Some shipping companies have begun to accept the request of direct passengers to modify the contract. According to the market, the new contract price has dropped from 9,000 US dollars to about 6,500 US dollars. However, due to the unpredictable trend of future freight rates, the new contract for West American dock workers has not yet been negotiated. The shipping company will first give a time-limited FAK price (Freight for All Kinds Rates) to direct customers.

A senior executive of a shipping company pointed out that there are also shipping companies that ask direct passengers to go to the freight forwarding company first to entrust the cargo. Although the long-term association has agreed to guarantee the cargo volume, because the binding force of each contract is different, according to past practices, the shipping company considers working with customers. In long-term relationships, the penalty clause for breach of contract is rarely used, so it doesn’t matter whether some contracts are changed or not.

He also pointed out that the decline in freight rates is an inevitable trend, but only how fast it falls. Wanhai’s quotation is surprising. Other shipping companies may be able to lower it one or two weeks later, but the freight rate will gradually return to normal. However, because Wanhai does not have a dedicated terminal in the United States, the scale of operation and service scope are also much smaller, and the punctuality rate is always behind, so there is no reason for the freight rates of the three major shipping alliances to be greatly reduced. At present, the average freight rate on the US West Line is about US$6,000, which is three times the cost of US$2,000.

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