The container trade in China: both sellers and buyers are taking a cautious approach

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Container xChange’s most recent report regarding the China market reveals a major gap in expectations for container prices between sellers and buyers, most likely due to a supply shortage. Christian Roeloffs, cofounder and CEO of the company, said, “There is a significant gap between demand and supply prices for container. Customers are hoping for price reductions within the next few weeks as sellers hold their inventory, since they anticipate prices to stay stable because of the tight capacity, particularly after diversions resulting from diversions due to the Red Sea and highly imbalanced trade. This is especially true such as from China towards Russia.”

Even with an 12.5 percentage rise in exports from China to Russia as well as the 6.7 percent increase in imports in the initial two months of 2024 the excess of units located in Russia and the capacity of Russia is saturating. This is not leading to substantial price cuts. Buyers and sellers alike have been taking a more cautious approach which has led to a slower increase in depots. This hasn’t been enough to force traders into adjusting their pricing expectations drastically.

Roeloffs also stated, “Looking ahead, while longer-term and mid-term forecasts indicate the need for a price adjustment in order to increase liquidity, current market mood suggests an unwillingness to predict major price declines.” This Container Price Sentiment Index (xCPSI) is calculated by Container xChange also reflects a decline in expectations of price drops for buyers. It has shifted from 83 to 82 points by the end of the month of January to just 22 points in the middle of March 2024.

Source: container-news.com

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Source: The Plantations International Agroforestry Group of Companies