Recently, the international shipping market has seen a wave of price increases, with major shipping companies announcing price hikes and some routes seeing increases of nearly 70%. Top companies like Maersk, DHL, and Hapag-Lloyd have issued price increase notices, with some routes seeing price hikes of up to 70%, and the cost of a 40-foot container rising by as much as $2,000.

Industry analysts attribute this price surge to geopolitical tensions, particularly the crisis in the Red Sea. Many container ships have chosen to bypass the Red Sea route, opting instead to circumnavigate the Cape of Good Hope, resulting in an additional 8 days of transit time and a $650,000 increase in fuel costs per voyage. Consequently, some shippers have urgently turned to rail freight as an alternative.

A recent report by Sea-Intelligence indicates that despite recent declines in container shipping prices, shipping companies have significantly reduced the number of empty voyages, almost reaching zero, in order to capitalize on the current high freight rates. However, during the upcoming May Day holiday period, shipping companies plan to implement a large number of blank sailings to cope with the significantly reduced cargo volumes during the holiday and to implement their freight rate increase plans.

Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence, pointed out that in the current market environment, shipping companies appear to be maximizing their profits by not restricting capacity and taking advantage of the relatively high freight rates. However, this may further exert downward pressure on spot prices.

Experts suggest that the recent surge in maritime prices is partly due to temporary market fluctuations and partly due to geopolitical tensions and some international trade barriers. The recovery of global trade will determine the future direction of maritime prices.