The unresolved "maritime chokepoint" is another important road "congested"? Freight forwarders have received notices from container shipping owners about price increases on the Red Sea route
The obstruction to passage in the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East has not yet been alleviated. The Houthi armed forces have issued another shipping threat, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is once again in danger. Institutional insiders believe that from the perspective of the entire shipping market, if the passage of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is blocked, the impact on the oil shipping market will be greater than the container shipping market. However, some freight forwarders have reported that they have received notification from liner companies that freight rates on the Red Sea route in the container shipping market may rise sharply starting from August 1.
The obstruction to passage in the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East has not yet been alleviated. The Houthi armed forces have issued another shipping threat, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is once again in danger. Institutional insiders believe that from the perspective of the entire shipping market, if the passage of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is blocked, the impact on the oil shipping market will be greater than the container shipping market. However, some freight forwarders have reported that they have received notification from liner companies that freight rates on the Red Sea route in the container shipping market may rise sharply starting from August 1. According to Xinhua News Agency, on July 20, the Houthi armed forces in Yemen warned international shipping companies that ships trading with Saudi ports may face military strikes, further expanding the scope of its previously announced maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia. "According to the current situation in the Middle East, Iran has strictly controlled the passage of the Strait of Hormuz, so Saudi Arabia's proportion of exports from western ports has increased. If the Houthi armed forces block ships in the waters of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, they will need to be transshipped north from Yanbu Port, which may involve the replacement of VLCCs with different ship types north of the Suez Canal, and the navigation distance will be significantly increased." Wu Jialu, chief analyst of CITIC Futures, analyzed to reporters from the Financial Associated Press. Wu Jialu further said that on the one hand, the risk premium of the geopolitical situation has increased, and on the other hand, the transportation distance has lengthened. Global crude oil inventories are currently low, so cargo owners are expected to be forced to accept higher freight rates and allow ships to divert, thereby increasing tanker freight rates. According to data from the Baltic Exchange, as of July 20, the TCE of the Baltic Crude Oil Freight Index (BDTI) TD22 route (US Gulf-China) was reported at US$104,000/day; the TCE of the TD15 route (West Africa-China) was reported at US$103,000/day, which is still at a historically high level. For the container shipping market, if the traffic volume of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait declines, the impact on European and continental routes will be relatively weak. A reporter from the Financial Associated Press learned in an interview that although some liner companies had previously announced that a few routes would resume Suez shipping traffic, most European and European routes still maintained detours. "90% of the shipping capacity of mainstream shipowners on the European and continental routes is around the Cape of Good Hope. Therefore, if the passage of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is blocked, it will not have a big impact on the mainstream shipowners on the European and continental routes." An expert on the European and continental routes of YQN told a reporter from the Financial Associated Press. The person further said, "Currently, the market has insufficient confidence in August's cargo volume. Cargo volume has already shown a downward trend. After August, it will gradually enter the traditional off-season for European routes. The impact on freight rates requires attention to the capacity control of liner companies and whether they can buffer the speed of freight rate reductions." Wu Jialu also said that mainstream shipping companies still mainly bypass the Cape of Good Hope on the European route. If the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is blocked, it will mainly have an impact on the market sentiment of the European route. In the future, we still need to pay attention to the traffic situation of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. However, affected by the turbulent situation in the Middle East, freight rates on the Red Sea route have "risen in response." A reporter from the Financial Associated Press interviewed some freight forwarders and learned that some shipping companies' related routes have suspended receiving goods, and some freight forwarders have received price increase notices from liner companies. Starting from August 1, freight rates will increase by nearly 2,000 US dollars/FEU compared with this week's freight rates.