The freight rate of China's freight routes has dropped

Affected by the new coronavirus epidemic and the record high air freight rates are declining. In the context of shrinking cargo space, the freight rate of the Chinese route, which once reached 10 times the usual time, is currently hovering below 2 times. Due to the reduction of passenger flights and grounding, the supply space is still limited, but due to the sluggish world cargo flow, freight rates are declining.

The freight rate first stabilized on the China route.

At its peak, April once exceeded 10 times, but began to decline after mid-May. At present, the spot (instant contract) fee from Tokyo to Shanghai is more than 70-200 yen per kilogram. It is 20% higher than the usual 60-80 yen, and it is only about 2 times higher.

The background is a decline in demand. The new crown epidemic response has led to the global demand for transportation of masks and protective clothing from China, which has basically disappeared (large aviation companies). Due to the popularity of home office, the limited demand for server investments and electronic components in data centers operated by large IT companies is strong. On the other hand, the demand for auto parts and aircraft parts, which are the main cargo, is sluggish. A person in charge of a mixed freight forwarder said that 'the recovery of goods related to the movement of people such as cars and aircraft parts is slow.'