COSCO has announced this week they will not move away from services into the USA despite the incoming USTR port charges, they have pledged to not pass on these extra costs to customers, but as time goes on the fees will increase each year, so we shall have to see.

The Port of Los Angeles announced record throughput in July and August this year, but expects volumes will not hit these levels anytime soon with the incoming USTR charges. The key route FBX01 (China/East Asia – USA West Coast declined $497 week on week and is $331 down on the start of the month, FBX01 has been fairly range bound in September. FBX03 (China/East Asia – USA East Coast) has increased by $336 since last Friday and is up $721 from the start of September against the trend of the main ex-Far East routes. FBX11 (China/East Asia – North Europe) has declined by $29 since the same time last week and $455 since the start of September, however the carrier Hapag Lloyd has just announced a GRI from Mid-October that will affect FBX11 and FBX13, so we should see rates increase again, FBX13 (China/East Asia – Mediterranean) ended the week $1 greater than last Friday, but down $672 since the start of the month.