There are orders but no boxes. The shortage of empty containers starting from the second half of last year has really broken many foreign trade companies.

Today, the situation has just improved, but people in the industry have given warning that the situation of soaring freight rates and "hard to find a box" may come back. The reason is the blockage of the Suez Canal.

On March 29, the Suez Canal, which had been blocked for nearly a week, finally opened to navigation. Upon hearing this good news, the head of a foreign trade company in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province contacted customers as soon as possible to discuss new sales and shipment plans. This company has more than 7,000 refrigerators that need to be sent to France through the Suez Canal.

Wang Jianming, Director of Overseas Department of a company in Ningbo, Zhejiang: For us, March and April, including May, is a very important export season for us.

Although the Suez Canal has resumed navigation, the news that the blockage of the canal will cause the freight rate to continue to rise one after another has caused many enterprises to worry about it. The person in charge of the largest local logistics company in Ningbo also said that shipping companies have started to take advantage of the opportunity to increase prices, including the US routes that have nothing to do with the Suez Canal.

Jia Jun, person in charge of a logistics company in Ningbo, Zhejiang: The overall shipping price has been increased. The European Red Sea has risen by US$2,000 this week. The US route, which has nothing to do with the Suez Canal, has recently increased its prices by about 40% to 50%. So it is expected that ocean freight will remain high in the second quarter of this year.

At the same time, with the arrival of the traditional peak shipping season for manufacturing companies, the "hard to find a box" situation has once again appeared. Many companies have already begun to book boxes less than April.

The person in charge of a foreign trade company in Ningbo, Zhejiang: Our current inventory in Spain is already at zero sales, and our local agents in Europe and our customers are anxious to urge replenishment.