Container ship bookings surge as U.S.-China trade detente revives demand

Chinese logistics firms are racing against time to manage an overwhelming volume of shipments bound for the the United States as a tariff cut between the world's two largest economies created a sudden boom in demand.

China and the United States announced in Geneva a series of tariff modification measures aimed at easing trade tensions between them on May 12, which have stimulated bilateral trade.

The cargo surge at major trade gateways like Shenzhen's Yantian Port, which handles more than a quarter of China's exports to the United States, has ship owners scrambling to coordinate berths and adjust vessel schedules.

"After the handover of containers, I have to pick up empty containers and load them with goods. Normally, we only make one trip a day, but now I have to make more than three trips," said Yu Xi, a truck driver with Shenzhen Qinhang International Logistics Co., Ltd.

At a berth, six ships are being loaded with more than 20,000 TEUs and will sail to the U.S.

"The peak season used to be from July to September, but this year it has come earlier in June and July," said Chen Zehao, duty manager of the operation services and development department under Yantian International Container Terminals, a leading gateway serving import and export container traffic. A cargo distribution warehouse near Yantian Port was already packed with goods waiting to be shipped out to sea. A warehouse manager said that during this period, the volume of goods entering the warehouse increased by more than 60 percent, from over 120 containers to more than 200 ones.

Longsail International Logistics Co., Ltd, a leading shipping, air and ocean freight forwarding and logistics organization in China, has seen a return in bookings for container transport from China to the United States. Vice President Cao Jingbo said there are still bookings for U.S. routes, and some U.S. supermarkets would like to eat the tariffs even before the tariff deal.

"The stockpiles in their warehouses are gone. They said they need Chinese goods urgently. Amazon and Walmart even said they would bear all the tariff costs as long as the goods can be shipped," said Cao.

The U.S. dollar increased in late trading on Friday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, went up 0.19 percent to 100.218 at 03:00 (1900 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro lost to 1.1515 dollars from 1.1544 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound was down to 1.3192 dollars from 1.3227 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 159.65 Japanese yen, higher than 159.34 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was up to 0.8008 Swiss francs from 0.7984 Swiss francs, and it rose to 1.3944 Canadian dollars from 1.3921 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar added to 9.4828 Swedish kronor from 9.4234 Swedish kronor.