It is reported that with the recovery of Vietnam's economy, the shortage of shipping space and air transportation capacity in Vietnam has become prominent. After months of blockade, Vietnam’s exports rebounded rapidly, which not only pushed up freight rates, but also caused a fierce battle for space between cargo owners and freight forwarders.
According to reports, Vietnam’s strict anti-epidemic lockdown measures ended in early October, and before that, Vietnam’s GDP in the third quarter had shrunk by 6.1%. Vietnamese business leaders warned that if the restrictions are not lifted, Vietnam will lose immeasurable orders and investment. .
For example, after many factories were forced to close, Vietnam’s exports of the apparel industry in September fell by 18.6% year-on-year.
However, after the lifting of the blockade, Vietnam’s export volume has shown amazing flexibility. The Ministry of Commerce and Trade of Vietnam predicts that Vietnam’s export volume will increase by 10% to 600 billion U.S. dollars.
Jan Segers, general manager of Vietnam Nottam Logistics, said that Vietnam has performed well after the new crown epidemic.
"After the terrible GDP in the third quarter, the opening of the factory and the'new normal' are exciting."
"At the end of the year, coupled with the Spring Festival in Vietnam, Vietnam has a huge demand for freight."
Segues said that the result was insufficient container capacity and space, resulting in high freight rates. He said: "Freights are still rising, and may continue until January next year."
It is reported that a 40-foot container from Ho Chi Minh City to Los Angeles costs approximately US$13,000 and US$16,000 to New York.
Seggs added: “From Haiphong Island to Europe, the shipper has been unable to obtain a space at a fixed contract price of US$12,000 per 40 feet because the spot price has exceeded US$14,000.”
"I am not a prophet, but my guess is that freight rates may fall and stabilize to a new normal, but they will not remain at a very low level as before. It all depends on how the congestion problems in the United States and Europe are resolved in order to The container can return to Asia."
In fact, Mark Gilliam, the owner of Cargoteam, a freight forwarding company based in Ho Chi Minh, said that shippers and freight forwarders are "scramble" for containers and space, and freight rates are still about five times higher than before the outbreak.
He said: "shipping companies do not value contract freight rates." He added that shipping companies have hardly injected new capacity into the market because Vietnam "is not their priority."
Gilliam added: “They make more money from China.” “However, thanks to some excellent operators, we can still manage to get slots, provided that we have to fight for customers every day.”
At the same time, Seggs said that Vietnam's air cargo market is still tight.
"We have also seen high demand for air cargo outside Vietnam, and the planes were booked out a few weeks in advance. We arranged six charter flights within five weeks to supply customers in the United States and Spain."
Seggs revealed that the price of air freight from Vietnam to Chicago is as high as US$20 per kilogram.
