The Suez Canal - The Ever Given and Shipping Prices

[fellatthefirst]

The title of my post will instantly grab the attention of anyone in the import game (such as myself).

Luckily (a pure stroke of luck) i didn't have anything on the Ever Given container ship. I am importing regularly and i have goods on the EVER GENIUS which made it to Felixstowe last Monday and other goods on the EVER GRADE which is sailing towards Europe as we speak. So i feel pretty fortunate in that respect. I was just wondering if anyone on here has a container on the EVER GIVEN and what on earth is happening with their stuff? This sort of scenario is pretty rare but it's really opened my eyes and made think of the "what if" a lot more.

This incident also seems to have completely and utterly screwed the shipping prices. I am getting ridiculous shipping rates at the moment. I was quoted $6,500 for a 20ft container last week and i had to actually cancel it and ask the factory to hold onto the goods for a few months until (hopefully) things settle back down again. It's just crazy at the moment.

Is anyone else experiencing these issues the same as me and how has impacted you? Any plans in plans for a similar future issue?

[fellatthefirst]

Simpo Two said:

Well the logic behind it is really that - if it's just greed and opportunism then the global economy is not borked as much as some may fear. Somebody will break ranks, undercut and take the business.

I believe it's a simple case of supply and demand. There isn't enough ships and containers to ship the amount of goods that need shipping. Therefore prices are going up and up until people (like myself) start to actually have to cancel shipments.

If you have a container full of small items it's not too bad as you're only adding on an extra 50p or so to each item but if you have bigger bulky items its terrible. Furniture companies for example must be pulling their hair out.