In recent weeks, the sharp correction of shipping prices from China to West America has attracted market attention. The adjustment of shipping prices has made many small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises that have suffered from soaring freight rates see the light. According to reports, an executive of a Qingdao freight company said that in the past four days, the freight for a 40-foot standard container from China to the west coast of the United States fell from about 15,000 US dollars to slightly more than 8,000 US dollars, a drop of nearly half. Freight to the East Coast dropped from more than US$20,000 to less than US$15,000, a drop of more than a quarter.

Freight forwarders sell space, causing freight rates to fall

Some analysts say that shipping costs between China and the United States have fallen sharply because the off-season is about to superimpose the decline in China's manufacturing capacity, and "speculators" are eager to sell the stock of storage space. According to previous reports from China Economic Weekly, from the inflow of containers into the market, middlemen continue to change hands to push up container prices. When a container reaches the enterprise terminal, at least three or four middlemen must raise the price.

China’s Golden Week holiday provides a rare moment of relaxation for freight companies servicing trans-Pacific routes, but it is still too early to judge whether freight rates have entered the adjustment period. As Chinese manufacturers have reduced production, weaker market demand has led to a decline in freight rates on some routes.

At the same time, congestion still exists, and recently there have been signs of spreading from North America to Europe. On the west coast of the United States, the decline in Chinese exports eased the congestion in the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, but the ship's waiting time was still as long as two weeks.