General

At present, the economy of the world's largest economy is gradually picking up. When market consumption is booming, US companies have begun to "replenish" overseas, especially buying Chinese goods. In the first six months of this year, the bilateral trade volume between China and the United States reached 2.21 trillion yuan, of which the United States imported 1.64 trillion yuan worth of goods from the Chinese market, a year-on-year increase of 31.7%.

These commodities mainly include mechanical and electrical products (computers, mobile phones, home appliances, etc.), labor-intensive products (clothing, plastic products, etc.), with a total transaction volume of 1.01 trillion yuan and 372.2 billion yuan respectively. As ocean freight has the advantages of low freight and low volume, it has naturally become the main transportation method for American buyers to import goods from overseas.

According to a Japanese media report on July 20, the latest data disclosed by the U.S. investigation agency Descartes Datamyne shows that in the first half of 2021, the volume of sea containers (20 feet) shipped from Asia to the United States reached 10.037 million, an increase of 40% year-on-year. Set the highest record in the past 17 years (2004).

Among the containers shipped from Asia to the United States, by region, China’s shipments accounted for 60%, an increase of 51% year-on-year; in addition, India increased by 66%, Vietnam increased by 47%, and Thailand increased by 38%... ..

Container shipping companies said that in June, US retailers began to book space for the shopping season at the end of the year, making sea shipping enter the peak season three months earlier than in previous years. Experts also pointed out that since the flow of goods remains at a high level, the congestion problem in the harbor will take a long time to resolve. This means that shipping costs to the United States are likely to continue to remain high.

In fact, sea freight rates have been soaring since 2020. Now American buyers have to bear more import costs when importing overseas goods on a large scale, and the advantage of sea freight "low freight" has been reduced.

According to a report on July 12, the Baltic Freight Index (Baltic Freight Index) shows that the current average freight rate for containers from China to California is 6043 U.S. dollars (approximately RMB 39,000), an increase of 43% from the beginning of 2021, and more since the beginning of 2020. It has skyrocketed by 344%.

The analysis pointed out that the United States is moving towards full unblocking, and various consumer demands have rebounded sharply. However, due to the global shipping chaos, factory deliveries have been severely delayed, and freight costs have also soared, which is causing many US companies to "suffer". The economic recovery of China may also be hindered.