Asia-Europe space remains under pressure, with carriers continuing to manage capacity through blank sailings and schedule adjustments. Renewed uncertainty in the Middle East is adding pressure to fuel costs and affecting air freight transit times. Typhoon Bavi has also caused disruption around East China ports, including Shanghai and Ningbo.
Sea Freight Update
Uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz has increased again this week following renewed conflict in the Middle East. Fuel prices have moved up as a result, meaning fuel-related surcharges remain under review and wider shipping and inland costs continue to be affected by volatility in energy markets.
Asia-Europe space remains under pressure, with carriers continuing to manage capacity closely across key routes. Blank sailings, vessel changes and wider network adjustments are still affecting where and how much capacity is available.
Demand from Asia remains high, although some slight easing is expected as we move further into the summer. However, carriers are expected to continue using blank sailings through August and September to keep supply and demand closely balanced, so capacity is likely to remain carefully managed over the coming weeks.
There has been disruption in East China following Typhoon Bavi, with some impact to port operations, departures and feeder vessel connections around Shanghai and Ningbo. Operations are beginning to recover, but some weather-related delays are expected as schedules are brought back into line.
Despite concerns that heavily laden vessel arrivals could lead to increased congestion in Europe and the UK, services are continuing to move relatively well. We are not currently seeing any major congestion challenges across European or UK arrival ports, and the PFE team will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Air Freight Update
Air freight services are continuing to experience pressure on some routes, with reliability affected by a combination of Middle East disruption and seasonal demand.
This week, transit times with some Middle Eastern carriers have been less reliable than usual. This includes a number of preferred carriers that would normally offer more dependable transit times. Services routed through areas affected by the conflict, combined with mango season demand, have created backlog and led to longer delays than we would usually expect. Where delays occur, we will continue to keep customers updated on individual shipments.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your shipment, please don’t hesitate to contact our Customer Service Team on 01376 533039 or email [email protected]. For Air Freight queries contact 01753 278020.
