The impact of Chinese port fees on U.S.-owned and -operated ships has proved milder than expected.
Linerlytica said in a report on October 21 that, although Beijing widened the fees to ships owned or operated by companies that are at least 25% owned by U.S. citizens from October 14, there has been no fallout.
Gemini partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd diverted two of their U.S.-flagged ships on the transpacific TP7/WC5 service to avoid the port fees, and only U.S. liner operator Matson’s ships have been hit by the retaliation against the U.S. Trade Representative’s fees on Chinese-built, -owned and -operated vessels calling at U.S. ports.
Linerlytica noted that U.S.-flagged vessels operated by CMA CGM’s U.S. subsidiary, APL, were exempt as the French line is building many vessels in China.
Linerlytica said: “The situation remains fluid, with the final determination of the ownership threshold still to be announced.”
But these disruptions saw transpacific freight rates rise sharply: On Friday, the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index recorded a 32% jump (from October 10) in Shanghai-U.S. West Coast prices, to $1,936 per 40ft, and Shanghai-U.S. East Coast gained 16%, to $2,853 per 40ft. The analyst added: “Further momentum is expected next week as carriers take advantage of the surge in bookings ahead of a potential tariff hike on Chinese imports.”
Read more in an article from gCaptain.