Alphaliner: Low Bunker Prices Will Save Box Shippers $14B Even As Rates Slide to Historic Rate Lows

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday April 21, 2015

Analyst agency Alphaliner says even though freight rates have plummeted to historic lows, the drop in bunker prices will save box shippers about $14 billion this year, ShippingWatch reports.

The savings were estimated to be around $383 million for carriers such as OOCL, and savings at Maersk Line of about $1.8-billion.

Last week spot rates as low as USD $350 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) were being reported on container ship services departing China, corresponding to record lows set in the beginning of 2009.

This comes on the heels of rates on the main service from the Far East to North Europe declining to $466 per TEU in the previous week.

SCFI index data for April 10 shows that spot rates from Shanghai to Europe, South America, West Africa, and Japan fell to the lowest level since October 2009.

Despite the low rates, Alphaliner says operators on the services between the Far East and North Europe may suffer even further declines with the addition of larger vessels on the services, which will increase total weekly capacity by nine percent - an amount said to be significantly above the expected demand.

Several shipowners have tried to halt the decline rate with blank sailings on the Asia-North Europe service.

Meanwhile, the maiden voyage of MSC's new mega-vessel MSC Oliver has been postponed for three weeks, but such measures were said to have had a limited effect on rates.

Earlier this month Drewry said there was clear evidence that box carriers were passing on bunker savings to shippers.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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