Chinese exporters speak out amid rising concerns of a global freight overload

Chinese exporters fear holiday freight crisis: Chinese exporters are expressing concern over tight schedules due to customers making holiday orders earlier than usual on the back of continued shipping disruptions in the Red Sea, The Financial Times reports. Some 19% of US and 26% European buyers placed advanced orders from Chinese suppliers in May to be front-loaded for Christmas, the FT reports, citing Drewry data. The average cost of transporting a 40ft container on short notice between Asia and northern Europe spiked to USD 6.85k last month, rising over 110% in the two months leading up to June, the news outlet noted, citing data from market analyst Xeneta.

Global air freight space isn’t much better: Chinese-based e-commerce platforms Shein and Temu are driving up freight rates by buying up a significant portion of aircraft space, the Wall Street Journal reports. This is adding to market concerns of a capacity overload during the peak festive season this year. Air freight prices out of Asia rose by some 40% y-o-y in June, a season that is usually slow ahead of the end-of-year holiday rush.

IN OTHER CHINA NEWS- A boom in Chinese plastic is on the verge of adding to global trade woes, Bloomberg reports. China’s plastic surplus is threatening to overflow into the global market in light of weak domestic demand leading the nation to become a significant exporter. “China’s structural imbalances are clearly spilling over into global markets,” Rhodium Group associate director Charlie Vest told Bloomberg. China has been a net exporter of polypropylene since March, exporting to South and Southeast Asia countries including Vietnam, Thailand, and Bangladesh.