Maersk Europe Market Update - November 2024

Similarly, in Antwerp, vessel waiting times remain high due to late arrivals from previous ports. Maintenance work on the quay is currently underway and expected to last until the third week of December, contributing to an increased yard density at the terminal yard. Our teams continue to work with the terminal to mitigate the effects of late vessel arrivals, and kindly ask customers to pick up their containers as soon as possible after discharge, to help ease the pressure on the terminal yard.

However, moving into peak season, Europe reported a 7% week-on-week increase in spot rates in the last week of October. The prediction for the remainder of the year remains more conservative, as forwarders are expecting suppliers to mitigate disruptions in advance. Read about air freight’s role in navigating black swan events here.

E-commerce remains is continuing to be a growth driver for volumes out of Asia Pacific into Europe. Tonnages have recovered to their pre-Golden Week levels, with significant growth in volumes from Hong Kong – indicating a wider demand from these markets for the last two months of the year.

Elsewhere, as most businesses continue submitting their tender requirements and expectations to logistics providers, our teams are busy tailoring solutions for moving cargo between ports and inland locations. At this time, customers are increasingly looking for transportation management system solutions and supply chain integrations.

Such systems allow customers to manage varying levels of transportation complexity across multiple transport modes and geographic regions, increase the overall visibility in their supply chain and consequently reduce costs through improved decision making.

There are several efficiency benefits for traders, including: risk management - preventing fraud through document forgery, automatic risk analysis, and eliminating errors associated with the manual recording of declarations - reduced administrative costs, and predictability and time saving. Read more on AES here.

Elsewhere, starting on 4th November 2024, Swedish Customs will introduce the Entry in the Declarant’s Records (EIDR) in their new import system, with a transition deadline of 31st December 2024. This process requires goods to be declared by entering them in your records and presenting them to Swedish Customs, followed by a supplementary declaration at a later stage.

In Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), for example, cash on delivery (COD) remains a significant payment option, particularly due to the lower penetration of digital payments and credit cards compared to Western Europe. In markets like Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary, COD is widely accepted by online retailers.

At recent eCommerceDB (ECDB) report shows that out of 45517 interviewed companies globally, only 16% offer cash on delivery as a payment option. At the same time, it is estimated that 30-40% of online stores in some CEE countries offer COD as a payment method.