Supply Chain Research

Container shipping rates may have peaked for Asia-U.S. lanes. While there was a 2.9% rise in rates in July they ended the month at $2,700 per FEU, down from a peak of $2,900 per FEU earlier in the month. A reduced number of blank sailings by the shipping lines, indicating an increase in available capacity, is the likely reason for the intra-month reversal. That should not be a surprise given bunker excluded rates rose by 16.7% on average in July versus June on average, boosting profitability for the liners. There are also signs that the downturn in traffic resulting from COVID-19 is slow...