Supply Chain Research

Container-rates continued their miserable run in April, with a 7% drop in average rates out of China during the month vs. March. Rates at month-end were their lowest since October 2016, and if unchanged for the rest of the quarter they would be 10% down on a year earlier. The decline has been broad-based, with European rates down 8% and U.S. west coast off 5%. The latter can be partly explained by the weak demand shown by an 11% drop in container handling at California’s ports vs. a year earlier in March. Overcapacity is also likely to be a problem, with Maersk’s CEO Søren Skou making cr...