Service withdrawals and new tariffs sent Asia to West Coast North America container spot freight rates into hyper-drive from the end of July, but there could be a sting in the tail.
The Transpacific trade – the world’s largest deep-sea market – is once again a money printing factory for carriers. By the end of July, following earlier service suspensions ships were full, cargo was being rolled and carriers’ coffers were quickly filling up again.
A lot of the sudden cargo rush was attributed to US President Donald Trump’s imposition of new tariffs on a whole range of Chinese goods, which came into effect 24 September and spurred American importers to bring forward supplies.
