World News
US Ports Face 'Major Congestion and Delays' if Fees Imposed on Chinese Vessel Calls
US ports could face 'major congestion and delays' if the Trump Administration follows through on plans to impose large fees on port calls by Chinese ships, according to freight intelligence firm Xeneta.
The new administration has announced a plan to impose a $1 million fee for every US port visit by a Chinese-operated vessel, as well as raising the possibility of similar fees for port calls by Chinese-built ships.
The plan could lead to significant disruption at US ports, Xeneta said in an emailed statement on Thursday.
"Ocean container carriers will take action to avoid the fees, such as calling at fewer ports, which could cause major congestion and delays in the US," Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, said in the statement.
"We saw a similar situation last year when carriers cut port calls in Asia and handled more containers per call at Singapore in an effort to offset the impact of the Red Sea crisis and diversions around Africa.
"The intentions were good, but the severe congestion caused by handling more containers in Singapore rippled across global supply chains and saw average spot rates from the Far East to US East Coast spike more than 300%.
"Trump is weaponizing trade against China, but you have to wonder if they truly understand the consequences of this policy because there is a high risk it will cause major disruption and make container shipping more cumbersome and expensive for US importers."
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 542.00 | 13.00 | 670.00 | 11.50 |
| Rotterdam | 528.50 | 6.00 | 673.00 | 3.00 |
| Houston | 541.50 | 7.50 | 699.00 | 18.00 |
| Fujairah | 542.00 | 14.00 | 753.50 | 12.00 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 582.00 | 5.50 | 775.50 | 5.50 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 538.50 | 10.00 | 699.00 | 11.00 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 613.50 | 7.00 | 810.00 | 3.50 |
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