Freight from Asia to the Mexican Republic has reached increases of between 900 and up to 1000% in recent months
Delays in supply chains, high demand, and a shortage of containers for ocean freight resulting from the pandemic may not end until early 2022; So there is the possibility that there will be a certain shortage in Mexico during the Buen Fin, Christmas and the Three Kings, especially in electronic products, toys and clothing.
In an interview with Forbes Mexico, the CEO of Maersk for Latin America and the Caribbean, Robbert van Trooijen, assured that at this moment the demand is growing on average 5 or 6% in the world, however, the logistics infrastructure is the same as there was before Covid-19
“The logistics infrastructure, warehouses, ships, ports are the same as before the pandemic, no more or less capacity compared to 2019, but the demand is growing in volume and the supply chain is growing in that sense due to lack capacity and visibility of the chain ”, he explained.
Robbert van Trooijen explained that the pandemic changed the maritime transport sector a lot, since at the beginning it was a supply crisis because production in China was not recovering and many suppliers tried to change the origin of the products to other countries.
While the supply in the second half of 2020 changed because the pandemic was expanding around the world, the need for products was unknown, stores were full of inventory.
And in the last quarter of commerce of last year, it was modified again since people were buying more products through e-commerce, growing so that intermediaries were not prepared for such a large demand situation,
Therefore, in the midst of this high demand, transport prices have also been affected and although the customers you have with long-term contracts have not been affected, those who do not have a fixed contract have been harmed and it is estimated that the market will be going to normalize at the end of the year or the beginning of next year,
In fact, the consulting firm Deloitte points out that 60% of the finance directors of companies consulted in the world consider that the interruptions in the chain have reduced their sales or will do so by the end of 2021.
While an analysis by Drip Capital indicates that the shortage of inputs for the production of electronic devices, the lack of containers, the increase in international freight costs of up to 300%, as well as a reduction in port activity in key ports for international trade, there could be a shortage of products for dates of high demand such as Good End, Christmas and Three Wise Men,
In fact, it specifies that in the case of freight from Asia to the Mexican Republic, in recent months they have reached increases of between 900 and up to 1000%.
Drip Capital also foresees that this shortage will be overcome until 2022, so there is a high possibility that, in high consumption season, there will be less availability of products from industries such as textiles, toys, and electronics, especially in telephony and computing.
“Despite a possible shortage of imported products, mainly from Asian countries, when we talk about large electronics and video game brands (which have remained stable since last year) it will be unlikely to see any impact on their prices, beyond those directly related to inflation or exchange rates, ”says Gregorio Vázquez, commercial director of Drip Capital Mexico.
However, he considered that with situations like this there is the possibility of the generation of phenomena such as the proliferation of informal secondary markets, dedicated to reselling these goods at a premium and second-hand.
According to Drip Capital’s analysis, the three countries from which Mexico imports the most in high seasons are: China, South Korea, and Thailand; To these, the main maritime export points are the ports of Shenzhen, Xiamen, Shanghai and Qingdao, in the north of China; Busan in South Korea and Bangkok in Thailand.
Source: forbes.com.mx
