The Suez Canal is one of the most important shipping routes in the world, the shortest connection between Asia and Europe, and is currently overwhelmed by queues of cargo ships. The situation in the Red Sea has shaken the world and significantly affected logistics.
What to prepare for and what results we have already seen:
- increased transit time
- growing shortage of containers in Asia due to delays in their return
- increase in transportation costs, which are already rising as the Chinese New Year approaches
Our customers are concerned about the situation - both those whose cargo is already on the way and those who are at the stage of packing.
There is no time to wait for the conflict to resolve, so we need to find a solution.
Together with our partners in China, we have already launched the loading of cargo owners' goods into SOC-containers (Shipper Owned Container). SOC-containers are not owned by the lines, so we actually buy only the space on the ship from the line. This allows us, firstly, to ship cargo despite the shortage of containers. Secondly, to reduce costs, since the use of SOC-containers often does not involve additional usage fees (detention, demurrage), and if it does, it is much less expensive than renting line equipment.
12-01-2024