Australian exporters look to bulk shipping as container risks remain into the new year

Published 2024년 10월 18일

Tridge summary

Australian grain exporters may shift to bulk shipments due to high container freight rates and potential issues in the container market. This shift is seen in the pulse market, where high container freight rates have led to bulk shipping. Issues such as supply chain disruptions, attacks on ships, and automation disputes at US ports continue to drive up container rates. Exporters face challenges in accessing containers and managing time delays. Bulk freight rates have not increased, so Australian pulses are expected to continue to be exported in bulk for at least the next 12 months. Container traders are advised to develop plans to mitigate potential disruptions.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Australian grain exporters that normally focus on the container trade may look to pivot to bulk shipments this export season due to high levels of volatility in world container markets. Rabobank's RaboResearch general manager Australia and New Zealand Stefan Vogel said container freight rates were currently particularly high and added there was also a higher risk of issues such as delays or cancellations. He said high container freight rates in the years since COVID-19 had seen a change in export patterns in smaller scale export sectors, such as the pulse market. "While traditionally Australian pulses have been exported in containers, sky high container freight rates due to supply chain disruptions during the COVID years had seen a pivot to bulk shipping, Mr Vogel said. "As container freight rates increased by up to eight times, pulse exporters swapped to bulk shipping to destination markets," he said. And while those supply chain disruptions, a host of other issues, including the ...

Source: Farmweekly