While the historically tight, and expensive, market for moving freight across land regularly makes headlines in the trucking community, the situation at ports and at sea threatens to send tidal waves through consumer prices.
The rules in the import game have changed, an administrator with a major trucking supply company told Commercial Carrier Journal on condition of anonymity. This means no more COD payments for imported containers and no more guarantees of getting a spot on a freighter. The source has seen an 445% uptick in import container costs, which will be passed along to customers. The equipment his company imports is used by trucking companies throughout the U.S.
“The only way the forwarder says they can get space on the ship is to prepay, and the prepaid rate right now they're quoting me is about $30,000,” the administrator said. “That same container 10, 11, 12 months ago was about $5,500.”
With demand soaring for new and used trucks, companies that support that equipment with everything from spare parts to radios, ELDs and floor mats have little choice but to pony up and pay historically high container prices.
“Personally, I don't see any relief in sight and there are rumors that maybe even a number of $40,000 per container is on the table,” said Siegfried Adam Jr., director of business development at Peter Wittwer North America, a customs house broker in Largo, Florida.
“There's no global governing body that would put the kibosh on this,” Adam continued. “There is nobody that says, 'Okay. This is enough.'”
Adam said some of his customers in the parts business have been feeling the pinch.
