BEIJING: A 90% year over year drop in ocean freight rates for cargo from China bound to the U.S. West Coast exceeded the expectation among logistics firms for just how fast trade demand would fall.
Prices in the ocean freight contract market posted a record monthly drop in November.
Central banks around the world are fighting inflation by raising interest rates and cooling demand, but that can quickly turn into a recession rather than the “soft landing” for the economy banks including the Fed say their monetary policy can engineer.
While November could represent the low point, logistics firms are warning of an all-out price war in 2023 with too many ocean vessels and too much container capacity. – Agencies
