Cancellations of ocean freight sailings rise

With demand for ocean freight falling, carriers are resorting to cancelling shippings.

Over 50,000 more TEU of cargo set to sail in September 2022 was blanked compared with September 2021.

Shippings on one of the world’s busiest routes, from Asia to the West Coast of the USA, have seen trips distributing 1.5m TEU of capacity cancelled over the past 12 weeks.

Peter Sand, Xeneta’s Chief analyst said: “This is the highest number of blanked sailings on this key trade since January and February, at a time when the industry would normally have anticipated very strong demand”.

With the peak season usually lasting through to October, the usual increased demand is yet to be seen, which could be worrying for ocean carriers as 2022 draws to a close.