Wedoany.com Report on Feb 25th, A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court could hinder shipping lines' plans to implement a General Rate Increase (GRI) for Trans-Pacific freight on March 1. This uncertainty has drawn significant attention to the short-term direction of Trans-Pacific freight rates. Although 34 blank sailings are scheduled for this trade lane over the next two weeks, no significant rush to ship cargo has emerged. The Lunar New Year holiday has just ended, a period typically considered the traditional off-season for container shipping.

In its latest report, Linerlytica noted that the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Trans-Pacific demand may be limited, adding: "The tariff uncertainty offers little incentive for shippers to alter their shipping plans to take advantage of a marginal short-term reduction in tariff rates." Freight rates from Shanghai to New York have recently seen a slight decline, while rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles have remained stable.

Drewry expects Trans-Pacific freight rates to continue softening in the coming weeks, pointing out that the number of blank sailings this year is higher than in previous years during the same period after the Lunar New Year. Despite this, Trans-Pacific carriers are attempting to leverage potential cargo volume growth while pushing forward with the GRI. Rates are expected to potentially increase by about $1,000 per 40-foot container in the coming week, partly due to the significant number of blank sailings set to reduce Trans-Pacific capacity by over 30% in the two weeks following the Lunar New Year. Overall, Trans-Pacific freight rates face short-term volatility amid the tug-of-war between supply and demand, and the subsequent trend still requires observation of the actual effects of cargo volume recovery and carriers' rate increase strategies.