Bluewell International Supply Chain Management (Guangdong) Co., Ltd

At present, the global economic development environment has undergone significant changes, and the world economic center has begun to shift to the Asia Pacific region. The development of the world economy will also trigger a new wave on the West Pacific coast, and further strengthening regional economy and the development of multinational corporations are providing favorable conditions for China's port construction and maritime industry. Faced with great opportunities, the problem of insufficient capacity in China's port and shipping industry is very prominent. The lack of large oil tankers and large oil tanker terminal berths has resulted in a Chinese ship carrying rate of only 10% for oil import transportation, forcing a large number of foreign ships to be rented for transportation. Not only does it require paying a large amount of foreign exchange, but it also loses a good opportunity for the development of China's maritime industry and the increase of employment.

The maritime industry is a capital intensive industry, and due to a lack of funds, most import and export cargo transportation in developing countries has to be controlled by the fleets of developed countries. China has not been spared from this fate. With the development and acceleration of China's industrialization process, this issue will become increasingly prominent. If not solved properly, it will form a vicious cycle.

With the rapid growth of the national economy and foreign trade, China's maritime transportation industry has achieved sustained and rapid development. The continuous growth of sea freight volume and the increasing influence of China's sea freight in the international arena have become important factors for the prosperity of global sea freight. With the rapid development of China's maritime industry, its market environment is constantly undergoing profound changes, especially as the Chinese government adopts active opening-up and maritime policies and regulations that are in line with international maritime practices, providing a "competitive, open, and transparent" market environment for the maritime industry. Chinese maritime industry practitioners, including foreign investors who come to China for investment and operation, must constantly understand and study the market environment they are in order to assess the situation, grasp the direction, and develop and grow through constantly encountering new situations and solving new problems.

In 2012, the global economic recovery was weak, and most international shipping demand remained sluggish. The comprehensive freight rate index for Chinese export containers released in October 2012 was 1187.72 points, a decrease of 2.2% compared to the previous period; The Shanghai Export Container Freight Index was 1202.96 points, down 3.6% from the previous period. In 2012, the traditional peak season transportation demand for European routes remained sluggish, and the cargo volume of the routes lacked substantial growth momentum. The consolidation and suspension of shipping companies to reduce capacity also failed to reverse the continuous decline in freight rates. Currently, freight rates have fallen by about $600 TEU in the past three months, approaching the breakeven point. Shipping companies are engaged in a price war to attract cargo, and market freight rates have generally dropped by around $100-200 FEU.

In 2012, China's shipping industry entered a deep downturn, with the China Shipping Prosperity Index in the third quarter at 78.17 points, which was in a relatively depressed range and decreased by 16.37 points compared to the previous quarter; The prosperity index of shipping companies is 70.16 points, a decrease of 17.47 points compared to the previous period, and is in a relatively depressed range. Among them, the prosperity index of dry bulk transportation enterprises is 58.54 points, a decrease of 15.68 points compared to the previous period, which is in a relatively depressed range; The prosperity index of container enterprises is 87.32 points, which is in a relatively depressed range, with a significant decrease of 32.08 points compared to the previous period. In the third quarter, the prosperity index of port enterprises was 97.42 points, which was in a weak recession zone, a decrease of 20.72 points compared to the previous quarter. Port enterprises fell into a recession zone for the first time since the financial crisis. The downturn in the shipping market in 2012 is a foregone conclusion, and 2013 may be even more difficult, becoming the darkest period before the dawn of shipping companies.