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Container shipping has cratered, as ship owners try to avoid unprofitable trips

wsj.com

11–20 of 220 posts

Re: Container shipping has cratered, as ship owners try to avoid unprofitable trips

#12
post #5

does this mean we can get cheap containers?

No, it means you can ship cheap trash from point A to point B, but people on either end will be too poor to buy it.

Too many paperclips on the market. Marketing levels need a boost.

Re: Container shipping has cratered, as ship owners try to avoid unprofitable trips

#13
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it means you can ship cheap trash from point A to point B, but people on either end will be too poor to buy it.

On the contrary, it means people's spending power is increasing because supply is getting cheaper.

That would only be true if the solution was a debottlenecking of transportation points such as port loading/unloading. If the equilibrium solution was "volumes stagnated but people got priced out of goods because shipping was too expensive", then not so much.

Re: Container shipping has cratered, as ship owners try to avoid unprofitable trips

#14
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it means you can ship cheap trash from point A to point B, but people on either end will be too poor to buy it.

On the contrary, it means people's spending power is increasing because supply is getting cheaper.

The demand for shipping containers is driven by demand for goods which is driven by consumption which is declining because people do not have the money for imported goods. Many people are struggling just to make rent and put food on the table. Buying things imported from abroad is on the back burner. The spending power of the consumer, or lack, is why demand is down and supply up.

Re: Container shipping has cratered, as ship owners try to avoid unprofitable trips

#16
post #6

That’s a pretty manipulative graph. Show the pre pandemic spot rates! From the article “ Box-ship operators were among the biggest pandemic winners. Orders for imported goods began to climb in 2020 …” so why doesn’t it show 2020 then?

For a larger timeframe (and more spot rates): https://en.macromicro.me/collections/4356/freight/44756/drew...

Re: Container shipping has cratered, as ship owners try to avoid unprofitable trips

#17

The shipping companies should be fine because they were prudent and kept some of that pandemic windfall in reserve to cover for this scenario…right?

[flagged]

That’s not quite accurate.

https://theloadstar.com/hapag-lloyd-racks-up-massive-3-4bn-p...

> Putting the fifth-largest ocean carrier’s earnings into context, [their profit for the first three quarters of 2021 exceeded] its return from the whole of the past five years.

Re: Container shipping has cratered, as ship owners try to avoid unprofitable trips

#18
post #9

Isn't this just a sign that the Fed's tamping-down of inflation is working?

Their plan to curtail inflation has always been demand destruction. Which means callous layoffs, unemployment, and misery for the workforce. We are just now seeing the effects, so expect it to get worse from here. We are a few more earnings misses, fumble of the debt ceiling, and another bank collapse away from a depression.

Re: Container shipping has cratered, as ship owners try to avoid unprofitable trips

#19
post #6

That’s a pretty manipulative graph. Show the pre pandemic spot rates! From the article “ Box-ship operators were among the biggest pandemic winners. Orders for imported goods began to climb in 2020 …” so why doesn’t it show 2020 then?

i checked the BDI https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/baltic

its exactly at the historical 30 year average. nothing to see here lol

Re: Container shipping has cratered, as ship owners try to avoid unprofitable trips

#20
post #6

That’s a pretty manipulative graph. Show the pre pandemic spot rates! From the article “ Box-ship operators were among the biggest pandemic winners. Orders for imported goods began to climb in 2020 …” so why doesn’t it show 2020 then?

Depending on the route, rates are back, or close to, pre pandemic levels, e.g. here

https://www.xeneta.com/blog/weekly-container-rate-update-wee...

Or here:

https://www.xeneta.com/blog/weeek-20-manzanillos-star-on-the...

Still, carriers are feeling the price drops for sure. But it is way less dramatic then it was during 2008 onwards. Those rates back then were close to unsustainable for carriers. They nice for the shippers so, but the days of up to two weeks without container retention fees are gone for good.

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