High spot rates from Asia to North Europe causing trouble for trade

Analyst point out that a lot of cancelled orders for next year are likely due to high spot rates from Asia to North Europe and predictions of huge hikes in annual contract rates. Retailers in Europe are already nervous about the new partial lockdowns impacting their sales. Also, the enormous sea freight rates and surcharges they are being billed is significantly adding to their concerns. It appears that carriers are now regularly quoting $10,000 per 40ft HC for January shipments from China to the UK; even $13,500 is being quoted, as per reports. There are also reports of carriers looking at charging a $1,000 per TEU booking cancellation fee despite the uncertainty of equipment availability. The forwarding community has expressed concerns that customers will either refuse or be unable to pay all the extra charges being racked up by the supply chain disruptions, reports said.