Following the Golden Week holiday period, rates ex China have softened further across most Australia trade lanes during the second half of October. The reductions have been most noticeable across the major China export ports including Shanghai, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shekou, Yantian and Nansha.
The easing in rates reflects softer demand following the National Holiday period, together with improved vessel scheduling and congestion conditions across parts of the network. Whilst carriers continue to closely manage capacity, the market remains more balanced than we experienced throughout September, resulting in increased competition across many Australia services.
A notable development this fortnight has been the continued adjustment of Australia and New Zealand service networks. MSC has restructured its Wallaby service to focus exclusively on Australia, removing New Zealand ports from the rotation and creating a more streamlined Australia service. At the same time, several carriers including ANL, OOCL and COSCO have adjusted port rotations and vessel calls to minimise delays associated with ongoing berth congestion at selected Australian and China ports.
These changes highlight a shift in carrier operating strategies, with schedule reliability and congestion avoidance now taking priority over maintaining fixed port rotations. Shipping lines are increasingly prepared to alter port calls and vessel schedules where necessary to maintain overall service performance.
Overall market conditions have improved and capacity generally remains available, we continue to recommend booking shipments as early as possible to secure preferred sailings and minimise the impact of any ongoing schedule adjustments as carriers continue to fine-tune their networks.