According to the South China Morning Post, with the diversified development of American companies’ trade and the gradual shift of orders to Southeast Asia, China’s cross-border trade with the United States has decreased, and the transformation of supply chain and weakening global demand are causing workers’ concerns. The manager of China Ocean Shipping Agency in Shanghai said: “The shipping industry is a barometer of global trade. Since May, there has been some rebound, but it will take more time to see substantial improvement. At present, many foreign companies have transferred their supply chains to Southeast Asia, especially the US routes.”
According to Mr. Wang, a port worker, most of these cargo containers are empty. Although they are busier than in the past two months, they have not changed much. In the past, trucks had to queue up to wait for loading and unloading, but now the roads are very smooth. Even though last month’s data showed that China’s foreign trade has rebounded considerably, the logistics workers in Shanghai, the world’s largest container port, seem to have a very slow recovery and remain cautiously pessimistic about the long-term prospects of their industry. It is reported that there are 50,000 registered container trucks in Shanghai, but according to the current demand, only 30,000 are needed. Moreover, mountains of empty containers are still a common phenomenon in several ports in Shanghai. A truck driver told the South China Morning Post that his monthly income was reduced by about two-thirds due to the decrease in goods, the decrease in delivery fees and the increase in natural gas prices. From 2010 to 2021, he had a steady income of 15,000 yuan per month. But since the beginning of last year, he has only earned 4,000 to 5,000 yuan a month. He is trying to sell the truck and find a new job.
According to the data of Container xChange, the Container Availability Index (CAx) is a tool to measure the import and export movement of the whole container, and this data has remained at a high level. Since the beginning of this year, the rating of containers of more than 6 meters and more than 12 meters in Shanghai Port has been 0.64. If the reading is 0.5, it indicates the market balance; if it is below 0.5, it indicates the container shortage; if it is above 0.5, it indicates the container surplus. Since September, Shanghai’s index has been higher than that of the past two years, and ports in Shenzhen and Tianjin have a similar trend.
Post time: Jul-20-2023