Shanghai reopening: world’s biggest port reaps benefits of higher freight rates as exporters get back on their feet after lockdown

Most major shipping lines have made plans to return to Shanghai’s ports, looking to secure orders from exporters getting back on their feet after lockdown

Shipping industry officials say it was not until this week that a large volume of imported and exported goods finally flooded the terminals

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The average waiting time for a container vessel is now 31 hours at the Shanghai Port, down from a peak of 69 hours in late April. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 8:27pm, 7 Jun 2022

Shanghai Port is benefiting from a gradual recovery in exports after a two-month citywide lockdown, as rising demand for ocean transport pushes up freight prices.

Though the world’s largest container port is not yet back to its pre-lockdown handling capacity, most major shipping lines have made plans to return to the dozens of harbours along Shanghai’s 200-kilometre coast, looking to secure more orders from exporters getting back on their feet.

Ocean freight rates have increased in the last few days, according to a weekly index compiled by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange. On June 2, the index hit 4,208.01, 0.8 per cent higher than a week earlier.

“There has been fanfare surrounding port operations in Shanghai because container cargoes and carriers are returning to the city in droves,” said Xiong Hao, an assistant general manager at Shanghai Jump International Shipping. “Exporters are eager to send their shipments overseas, even with the higher freight costs.”

Many global shipping carriers had turned to Ningbo port in Zhejiang, which is a three-hour drive from Shanghai, in recent weeks to avoid the gridlock at Shanghai’s harbours.

Shanghai formally lifted its lockdown on June 1, allowing all manufacturers to resume production and try to make up the ground they lost to the Covid-19 pandemic.