General

Previously, it was difficult to find a container, the freight rate was soaring, and the supply chain interruption was the main problem for many foreign trade companies to export.

However, since October, ocean freight, which has risen for 15 consecutive months, has declined for the first time, and Yiwu has also ushered in a wave of shipments.

Yiwu, Zhejiang: Trucks queued up, warehouses broke up, export companies were busy delivering goods

Yiwu Port has a total storage area of 430,000 square meters, and 1/3 of the goods purchased from the Yiwu market are sent to the world from here.

September and October each year is the peak season for Yiwu foreign trade orders. In Yiwu Port, trucks loaded with goods shuttle back and forth, creating a busy scene. A truck driver who was waiting for loading told reporters that he had been here to line up the night before.

Ji truck driver: I have waited for more than ten hours from last night to now, because there are more cars here, I came here early or came late.

Although the workers kept loading the goods, the warehouse was still full, and there was a steady stream of new goods sent from the factory during the period. The warehouse manager of Kaiya International Freight Forwarding Company told reporters that since the beginning of this year, warehouse shipments have soared, and warehouses have been bursting every week.

Zhao Jingyun, manager of the cross-border logistics division of a freight forwarding company in Yiwu, Zhejiang: It bursts every week, and it is still empty today.

An express line like the U.S. used to load a dozen or so containers a week, but now I may have to load 25 containers a week, and I have to work 24 hours to complete it. The volume has also increased, and may have tripled.

Especially during the National Day, the freight rate was adjusted, and a large amount of backlog of shipment demand was released. Not only that, but also waiting-and-see customers began to actively place orders. In Yiwu International Trade City, Wei Shirong, who is in the pet supplies business, has just placed an order.

Wei Shirong, an operator of Yiwu International Trade City, Zhejiang: Since last month, the price of our U.S. line has dropped significantly, from more than 30,000 US dollars to more than 20,000 US dollars. The freight has dropped and the space is also available. So now customers are starting to urge us to ship them in time, and now there are more orders than before, so they will no longer be worried about shipping costs.

Yiwu, Zhejiang: "Yixinou" trains increase, private enterprises buy luggage and ships to go to sea

At present, the congestion of foreign ports has not been alleviated. Although the freight rate has been adjusted for a short time, it is still at a high level. The shortage of containers in the international shipping market also occurs from time to time. For this, many companies are actively seeking a way out.

This year, the 1000th China-Europe Express train shipped on Yiwu platform, loaded with 100 TEUs of auto parts, is expected to arrive in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, in about 15 days.

On the same day, the China-Europe Railway Express Yiwu platform opened a total of 6 trains, carrying a batch of auto parts, Christmas supplies, electronic products and other goods, which were delivered before Christmas.

In the cargo yard, cranes are working endlessly, and a group of containers are hoisted by gantry cranes to the deck for shipment, and trucks outside the yard are waiting to enter the yard.

Wu Xiaodong, leader of the China-Europe container team at Yiwu West Freight Station, Zhejiang: This yard was originally used to serve the empty container turnover of the platform. Now all of them are heavy containers (containers after loading). The empty containers will go out within three days, and the space will be vacated. Use it for heavy boxes, and now some in the venue have been waiting for nearly half a month, waiting to be sent.

Due to the fact that international shipping is "difficult to find one box" and freight rates have soared, the China-Europe freight trains with shorter cycles and stable freight rates have become a new choice for many foreign trade companies.

As of October 1, the Yiwu platform of the China-Europe Railway Express has opened a total of 1,004 trains this year, shipping 82,800 TEUs, and the volume of shipments increased by 57.7% year-on-year.

However, the rapid growth of China-Europe freight trains is still not enough to form an alternative to ocean shipping. The transportation volume of the China-Europe Express is relatively limited, and the destinations are also limited to countries along the route.

To this end, some traders have taken a different approach and have also explored a new model of "chartering ships to sea". Freight forwarding changes to shipowners, organizes cargo consolidation and creates exclusive routes, effectively alleviating the logistics and cost problems faced by some foreign trade companies in Yiwu.

Jin Lixian, chairman of a freight forwarding company in Yiwu, Zhejiang: My biggest advantage is that I have the boxes. We bought the boxes directly from CIMC and have already ordered 10,000 boxes. Now small boats can solve its capacity, greatly reducing the pressure on large ships, and also greatly alleviating the current export difficulties of production enterprises.