The container market has appeared to have found some stability at the outset of October after dropping steadily during the prior month, Jefferies analyst Omar Nokta said.
The Freightos Baltic Index declined 28.8% from 30 August to 1,097 points on Monday, but it has lost only six points since then to come in at 1,091 points on Wednesday.
“It appears freight rates came under significant pressure going into Golden Week and the market has shown some stability, especially in light of aggressive blank sailing of late,” Nokta told TradeWinds.
“We’ll see how things progress from here.”
He pointed out in a note on Wednesday that container spot rates from Asia to Europe have stayed at about $1,000 per feu since last week, while those from Asia to the US East Coast have kept between $2,200 and $2,400 per feu.
He also noted that spot rates on the voyage from Asia to the US West Coast have stayed between $1,700 to $1,800 over the past few days.
“Container spot rates appear to be steadying after coming under pressure for much of September,” he wrote in the note.
“Rates on the main lanes into North America and Europe are little changed from this time last week.”
The index reflected similarly flat spot rates over the past few days for the same routes, showing that the average rate for the trip from Asia to Europe has stayed at $898 per day since Monday.
The rate for the voyage from Asia to the US East Coast has lost only $8 per day since Monday to land at $2,243 per day on Wednesday, while that for the Asia-to-US West Coast jaunt shed $10 per day to $1,487 per day.
But this steadiness in the market may be short-lived as more and more newbuildings come onto the market, according to Alphaliner.
“The current gigantic orderbook continues to cast a shadow on the industry,” the shipping intelligence outfit wrote in a note on Tuesday.
“The uninterrupted delivery of new ships is impacting all size segments, directly or indirectly.
“As a result, Alphaliner believes that despite its resilience, the charter market will continue to slowly, but continuously decline in the short term, until at least after the Chinese New Year.”
TradeWinds reported last week that global container capacity has been growing at an average rate of over 190,000 teu per month since April, according to Linerlytica.
