China Freight Costs Exploded!??

[liero1]

Hi - just wanting to see how your experience is at the moment, I have been told that sea freight China Europe is about 5x as expensive as usual. Even express air freight is up in costs.

This is really bad at the moment - I guess just need to delay sourcing for a few months?!

Thanks

 

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[Stargazer]

I think from reading this article, March onwards will start to see things return to normal.

The Brexit bit won't concern you if you are in mainland Europe but the rest are factors that have and will cause congestion (Covid, Christmas just finished and upcoming Chinese New Year)

Reasons for the increase in freight rates | ShipHub

Freight rates have skyrocketed at the end of 2020. What caused the unprecedented increase in freight rates?

www.shiphub.co

Not my field but my March guess doesn't seem that unreasonable and that is not too long for you to wait.

Dan

 

[Envision]

I doubt it will slow down in March, CNY will be ending and people will be wanting to get their shipments going.

 

[Robert Force]

Have you guys ever checked train freight from China ? I heard it is not that expensive compared to its relative speed. Not my field too, just curious.

 

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[RoadTrip]

Have you guys ever checked train freight from China ? I heard it is not that expensive compared to its relative speed. Not my field too, just curious.

It’s terrible. Not recommended. Many many train shipments are stuck at Polish or Czech customs for a very long time. Either go by air or sea and skip train shipments for now

 

[Walter Hay]

Have you guys ever checked train freight from China ? I heard it is not that expensive compared to its relative speed. Not my field too, just curious.

The rates for rail freight will usually work out at two to three times the cost per kg compared to sea freight, but the opportunity cost must be taken into account.

Faster delivery means quicker turnover of stock and that can make more money than the extra freight cost.

It’s terrible. Not recommended. Many many train shipments are stuck at Polish or Czech customs for a very long time. Either go by air or sea and skip train shipments for now

Even before Covid there were unreasonable delays at some border crossings, but the current situation is even worse. Sea freight is also suffering huge delays, with a major reason being the shortage of empty containers.

I don't see the situation improving greatly for a long time due to Covid disruptions. We haven't yet settled into a "new normal" in international trade.

Walter