On May 28th, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings (SH601919, with a stock price of 16.27 yuan and a market capitalization of 254.4 billion yuan) convened its general meeting. A total of 107 shareholder representatives were physically present at the meeting, actively posing inquiries. Their concerns spanned multiple areas, including market prospects, the impact of tariffs, alliance competition, long – term contract signing, and market value management.
A journalist from the “Each Day Economic News” inquired about the alterations in the volume of US trade cargo. Qian Ming, the deputy general manager of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings, revealed that on May 12th, the US – China trade negotiations reached a phased outcome. Traders promptly capitalized on the 90 – day time window to concentrate on shipping out their goods. At present, the cargo volume has rebounded to the level prior to the implementation of the so – called “equal tariff,” which is 10% to 20% higher than the normal volume. The company deems that this volume is still the remaining stock in warehouses. The production cycle for subsequent cargo volume is roughly 1 to 2 weeks. It is anticipated that there will be an ample supply of cargo in June. Qian Ming further disclosed that the signing of US trade cargo contracts was fully completed by the end of April, and both the signing volume and price exceeded those of the same period last year.
“Within merely two months, the maritime shipping market witnessed three distinct phases of changes,” Qian Ming elaborated. On April 2nd, when the United States announced “reciprocal tariffs,” import costs surged. The company noticed that the prevalent wait – and – see attitude in the market led to a significant slump in cargo volume. A week later, the United States temporarily suspended the imposition of “reciprocal tariffs” on some trading partners. Subsequently, the export volume in Southeast Asia experienced a rapid upswing, with an increase on top of the original level.
However, due to the production capacity constraints in these countries, the growth was not overly substantial. On May 12th, China and the United States jointly released a statement following the Geneva economic and trade talks. China’s export volume then witnessed a remarkable increase. Additionally, shipping companies adjusted their capacity planning due to the insufficient cargo volume and low loading rates in the previous period, resulting in a tight industry capacity. Rumors spread in the market about a shortage of shipping space.
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