Global Freight Market Insights

Impact your business with timely information on global freight trends that could affect capacity availability, pricing, and more. Create and download custom reports by adding your preferred ocean and air trade lanes—then, check back monthly for updates.

Updated on September 15, 2022

The following information is built on market data from public sources and C.H. Robinson’s information advantage—based on our experience, data, and scale. Use these insights to stay informed, assist with decision making to potentially mitigate risk, and hopefully help avoid disruptions to your supply chain.

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Global Market Overview

Top story: Labor strikes and what it means for cargo out of the United Kingdom, effective September 19, 2022
View of container ship in port at dawn 

The Port of Liverpool labor strike is expected to last through October 3, 2022. The port handles an average of 700,000 TEUs of cargo per year.

Barring a resolution, these stoppages over a pay dispute will involve nearly 600 workers. Many, if not all operational processes will be strongly affected. Truck deliveries will only be possible to a very limited extent—if at all.

Additionally, traffic around the port may also occur, along with temporary storage charges. It is important to understand how these market conditions may impact average transit times and to plan accordingly.

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Air Freight Update

Asia

Nearing the end of third quarter, expect an uptick in demand from the current slack situation. Stable rates are expected to be maintained with no capacity issues in general, barring any major developments in the market.

China continues to double down on its strict zero-COVID-19 policy with renewed partial lockdowns or restrictions in the affected China cities of Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Dalian.

Due to new outbreaks of COVID-19 cases in Chengdu, there has been another round of suspension of U.S. flights by the Chinese government for September. This has resulted in the United States changing flight schedules to several cities in China as well.

Europe

Congestion in Europe ports has caused significant delays in vessel schedules—an average of 10–15 days. Carriers have increased their blank sailing program in response to the persistent lower demand, with the intent to increase rates and prevent a further slide in spot rates.

European capacity additions and slowing demand have softened market conditions. Demand is manageable in the current environment as travel demand is keeping capacity high. Expect travel demand to decrease in the fourth quarter, resulting in less capacity in the market.

North America

There are stark differences in the conditions of southbound versus northbound Latin America markets. Challenges in the ocean market are driving significant demand for air freight on northbound lanes and capacity is tight. Southbound capacity (i.e., Miami) is available to most markets, though capacity is being removed due to seed season ending and passenger travel restrictions.

United States airport operations continue to be challenged by COVID-19 illnesses. While recovery times at U.S. airports remain elevated relative to pre-pandemic conditions, there are fewer extreme delays as demand has softened this year. The export market has improved over the course of the summer with spot pricing trending down in most lanes.

Oceania

Imports from North America and Europe remain relatively strong. Asia imports are soft with greater capacity now available. However, flight changes and cancellations are still common.

Air freight to North America and Europe from Australia is strong. The Trans-Tasman market remains busy in both directions.

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Ocean Freight Update

Global

In Germany, unionized port workers and the association representing the seaport operators agreed to terms for a new contract after one of the longest running labor disputes in Germany in decades. The tentative agreement came just three days before a cooling-off period imposed by the Hamburg Labor Court was due to expire.

This agreement removes the threat of further strikes, which have been disrupting operations in all the North Sea ports since June.

Average delay of late vessels

Average delay of vessels chart 

Source: © Sea—Intelligence Maritime Analysis

Carriers will use blank/void sailings, port omissions, and service rearrangements to mediate congestion and optimize their network capacity and fluidity.

Global schedule reliability

Global schedule reliability chart 

Source: © Sea—Intelligence Maritime Analysis, Global Liner Performance Report

While still very low, schedule reliability continues to show gradual improvement month over month. Overall, schedules will continue to remain challenged because of port congestion. Additional considerations to remember:

  • Forecast 6–8 weeks minimum
  • Prioritize freight
  • Maintain variability in SKUs/parts
  • Smooth volumes week to week
  • Add routing flexibility when possible
  • Communicate clearly with trade partners
Asia

Export demand out of Asia remains slow because of high inventory levels and inflation in North America and Europe. While the first week of October is the Golden Week Holiday, no significant pre-freight rush is expected.

Steamship lines will likely announce the holiday blank sailing programs this month for October. Rates are expected to keep trending downward.

Europe

Following the end of the August strike action at the largest port in the United Kingdom, the Port of Felixstowe, workers at the Port of Liverpool have announced a strike action from September 19 to October 3, 2022. As such, service backlogs in Northern Europe are expected to continue.

Despite the schedule issues and need for flexibility, peak demand out of Europe has been reached, and space options are gradually becoming available.

North America

Congestion continues to grow throughout the United States East Coast (USEC) due to a diversion of carrier capacity/vessels from the United States West Coast (USWC) on the Trans-Pacific eastbound (TPEB) trade lane.

The main reasons for sending more vessel capacity to the USEC are the ongoing congestion issues at USWC ports. Plus, there is demand from importers to diversify their supply chains against the possible risk of labor disruption at Los Angeles/Long Beach ports. This USEC congestion is the same or worse than the congestion currently experienced at USWC ports.

South America

Services to east coast South America ports have reduced capacity by approximately 25% and blank sailings to west coast South America ports have increased to approximately 32% of capacity, due to space constraints and severe congestion at the transshipment hubs.

Exports out of South America continue to be strong. For Europe, Asia, and South Asia services priority is given to specific commodities by the steamship lines. Oceania, Africa, and Middle East services are experiencing frequent schedule changes and service rearrangements as those lanes are not being prioritized by ocean carriers.

Demand to North America remains strong with congestion-related issues plaguing services at both origin and destination.

South Asia, Middle East, and Africa

Monsoon weather is passing through India and Pakistan this week. It is expected to lead to power outages, flash flooding, and disruptions to road and rail operations in the region. There has already been heavy rainfall throughout Pakistan, which has led to widespread severe flooding in a large percentage of the country. This will certainly impact the movement of cargo through Pakistan in the coming weeks and months, and delays should be expected.

Congestion at Bangladesh ports is worsening. Many carriers have either suspended or severely limited available space to this destination. Congestion surcharges are also being applied by ocean carriers at Chittagong/Chattogram port. These costs must be paid at origin.

Space out of South Asia and Middle East has eased on all trade lanes, but schedule reliability issues to destinations affected by congestion (U.S. and Europe mainly) continue.

Challenges out of Africa continue as well, including equipment availability issues, congestion, and blank sailings/limited berth times. Yet, space options seem to be improving slightly.

Oceania

There is some softening of the market in Southeast Asia. Demand is expected to remain steady and capacity is opening up. Pre-planning is still essential. Book AT LEAST 3 weeks, or more, in advance to avoid interruptions. Equipment availability remains tight, particularly for 40ʹ high cube (HC) containers.

The Northeast Asia market has softened. There are some changes taking place in the market with extra capacity now bedded in. Both added capacity and new services have had a negative impact on rates, but with demand still soft, carriers are starting to use omissions/blank sailings to halt rate declines. Expect this lane to remain challenging into the second half of 2022. Repositioning equipment has alleviated some of the difficulties in prior weeks.

The Trans-Tasman (TTZ) market remains strong with limited capacity—the addition of the new shuttle service out of Brisbane, Australia will add tonnage to the lane. Carriers continue to replace smaller vessels with larger ships. Even with service changes, the TTZ eastbound/westbound remains significant challenged for sufficient space.

North Europe, Mediterranean, Oceania (NEMO) services are experiencing heavy vessel delays. With the recent addition of a fourteenth vessel on the Direct (NEMO/Australia Express) service, expect some improvement in the scheduling over the next quarter.

Demand for Direct services should continue to be relatively strong for the remainder of the third quarter, with elevated rate levels. Transshipment services are showing some signs of weakening demand, but rate levels remain fairly stable with some lower spot rates available on specific ports and sailings.

Advanced bookings are still required 5–6 weeks out for the United States. Equipment availability in the main ports has improved, however chassis shortages continue to be an issue. Decreased import volumes from Asia will continue to impact equipment availability.

Cosco has announced the resumption of the U.S. to Australia trade lane and OOCL has indicated they will remove volume restrictions, which will add capacity to the lane.

Demand is steady, however, there has been a shift in export volumes, which may help to ease congestion at rail and port terminals.

Inland Drayage Update

North America

There is a growing issue with delays at West Coast ports in both the United States and Canada for containers using rail into the Midwest. Containers are currently dwelling up to 10–15 days, depending on the port.

An underlying issue appears to be a shortage of chassis at the rail yards to allow trains to be unloaded in the U.S. Midwest. This creates a shortage of rail freight cars at the ports. Ocean carriers are now contemplating reducing their volume of rail activity inbound into these areas.

There is a growing congestion issue at rail terminals in Canada. Equipment, freight car, and driver shortages over the past several weeks have combined to create a backlog of rail cargo in Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax terminals. This is slowing the movement of rail cargo, increasing dwelling containers at Canada ports, and adding to existing port congestion.

Oceania

Oceania continues to experience congestion across the landside sector of the supply chain. The largest choke point is the empty container network that continues to deteriorate. Continued lack of capacity to return empty containers results in additional costs for transport operators that are forced to double handle containers and equipment back through their yard and await suitable return appointment times. Expect additional transport costs and the increased risk of incurring container detention.

The Australian Government has advised there will be no extension to the fuel rebate put in place in March. Work with your transportation providers to understand the impact of this and watch diesel pricing closely to monitor the situation. Expect prices to increase over the coming months, causing higher-than-normal fuel rates.

Customs Update

North America
Customs user fee changes coming soon

Effective October 1, 2022, U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) will adjust certain customs user fees and corresponding limitations. The 18.629% increase comes as a result of CBP’s annual determination as to whether the fees and limitations must be adjusted to reflect inflation.

As outlined in the General Notice, some of the fees that will be changing include:

  • Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF)
    For formal entries, the minimum will change from $27.75 to $29.66, the maximum will change from $538.40 to $575.35. The ad valorem rate of 0.3464% will not change.
  • Informal Entry/Release Fee
    Automated and not prepared by CBP personnel (class code 311a), this will change to $2.37.
  • Customs Broker Permit User Fee
    This fee will change to $163.71.
Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT)

U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) recently announced “one of the highest” areas of non-compliance for Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) members in 2022 has been the Minimum-Security Criteria (MSC) related to wood packaging materials (WPM) and pest prevention.

The MSC, outlined in section 8.1 Agricultural Security, requires:

  • C-TPAT members MUST have written procedures designed to prevent visible pest contamination to include compliance with WPM regulations.
  • Measures regarding WPM MUST meet the International Plant Protection Convention’s (IPPC) International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15).
  • Visible pest prevention measures MUST be adhered to throughout the supply chain.
Oceania
Brown Marmorated Stink Bug 2022–23 season

The seasonal Brown Marmorated Stink Bug measures are now in place for Australia and New Zealand until April 30, 2023. Get full details on our C.H. Robinson Oceania website about what this means for your imports and supply chain this season.

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Trade lane updates

Use these insights to forecast how capacity changes and trends impact your business. Create customized, shareable reports by adding your preferred trade lanes. Check back each month for the latest updates in the lanes you care about. Updated ocean and air freight market insights will be available the third Thursday of each month.

Market status key:
Stable
Strained
Critical

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Trade lane FAQs

Q: What are C.H. Robinson's definitions of ‘stable,’ ‘strained,’ and ‘critical’?

Stable: Green – Relatively open capacity and low spot market rates
Strained: Yellow – Capacity is tight and mid-level spot market rates
Critical: Red – Backlog of capacity and high spot market rates

Q: What do the terms and acronyms commonly used in market updates mean?

  • Blank sailings – Blank sailings occur when a carrier has removed a vessel rotation from a given service string. This results in one week where there is no vessel sailing offered at the ports called on that particular service string.

  • CY – Container Yard. A location where containers are stored temporarily during transit. It can be a port terminal, rail terminal, or trucker’s yard.

  • Extra loader – An extra loader is a vessel that an ocean carrier has added to a service string to increase capacity in the short term. This vessel would not be part of the standard vessel rotation on that service string. It would be removed as soon as it is no longer required to meet excess demand.

  • FEU – Forty Foot Equivalent Unit. The forty foot represents a 40′ container.

  • GRI – General Rate Increase. This is one of the mechanisms ocean carriers can use to increase rates for ocean transport on a particular trade.

  • IPI – Interior Point Intermodal. Also known as rail ramps, these are inland points to/from which carriers can offer service on a through bill of lading.

  • PSS – Peak Season Surcharge. This surcharge is typically applied by ocean carriers during the peak shipping period on a given trade lane, where vessel space is either fully utilized or overbooked.

  • Roll/roll pools – A “roll“ happens when a container booked on a given sailing/vessel is transferred by the steamship line to the following vessel serving the requested lane. A “roll pool” is created when a steamship line plans for a large number of containers to roll from one vessel to another.

  • SSL – Steamship line or ocean carrier

  • Steamship line alliance – Alliances occur when a group of steamship lines share vessel space on their service strings and manage services in agreement with each other. There are currently three steamship line alliances on the main east-west trades: the Ocean Alliance, 2M Alliance, and The Alliance.

  • TEU – Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit. The twenty foot represents a 20′ container.

  • Transshipment – This service offered transports cargo in two legs on two different vessels. The first vessel brings the container from the port of origin to the port of transshipment. The second vessel brings the container from the port of transshipment to the final destination port.

  • VSA – Vessel Sharing Agreement. This is an agreement between steamship lines to share slots (space) on a service string or vessel.

Market insight videos

Watch these short videos to gain a better understanding of the market dynamics affecting global supply chains and the movement of goods around the globe.

Wheeled v. grounded U.S. inland terminals

Explore the difference between wheeled and grounded U.S. inland terminals with Jenna Kuehn, Director of Global Forwarding Inland at C.H. Robinson.

The chassis shortage

Learn about the dynamics behind equipment shortages in the U.S. inland market with Jenna Kuehn, Director of Global Forwarding Inland at C.H. Robinson.

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