Industry Information

US line booking surges, freight rates rise; Evergreen is cautiously optimistic about Q3 peak season

Evergreen Marine (2603) held a shareholders meeting today (29). The company said that after the US and China reached a 90-day tariff agreement, US line booking demand surged, driving up spot market freight rates. It is expected that space and cargo volume will return to previous levels by the end of June. Although Q3 is the traditional peak season, the market is still full of uncertainty. It will continue to strengthen operational resilience and competitiveness and flexibly respond to changes.

Evergreen Marine said that after the US and China reached a 90-day temporary agreement on May 12, US line bookings surged. It is expected that space and cargo volume will return to pre-April levels by the end of June. As cargo owners are eager to resume shipments, spot market freight rates have adjusted upward rapidly in mid-May. Market demand has increased significantly, but fleet mobilization cannot be completed in one step in the short term, so the market expects that freight rates will continue to rise.

Evergreen Shipping pointed out that according to past experience, August and September are traditional peak shipping seasons, so it remains cautiously optimistic about market development, but the global economy still faces challenges such as slowing growth, supply chain restructuring and policy uncertainty. The future economic trend will depend on the policy choices of major economies and changes in the global trade environment.

Evergreen Shipping also said that the global container shipping market faces multiple challenges this year. Among them, geopolitical turmoil and drastic changes in the international economic and trade environment have put pressure on the global economy and shipping market. Evergreen Shipping will continue to strengthen its overall operational resilience and market competitiveness to respond to the ever-changing global shipping market.

ETtoday Reporter Liao Jieyu/Taipei Report