International maritime shipping is currently the most important branch of cargo shipping. Although it has numerous advantages such as cost savings, storage capacity, or the variety of products that can be transported, it’s essential that its costs are carefully analyzed to achieve greater efficiency. At Cargofive, we noticed the huge work that freight forwarders are doing to achieve this, so we decided to share the most searched routes in order to give them greater visibility of their operations.
Making an analysis of the sea lanes through which the cargo will be sent is crucial when making a quote for an international shipment. It will establish the best way to distribute the load according to time and charges, looking to minimize them and taking into account the possible factors that could affect the shipping.
Which sea lanes are the most searched by freight forwarders?
Our platform offers a rate finder where freight forwarders can search for the different providers and rate options to make a shipment and then send a quote to their customers. Based on that, we collected information to provide insights on the most searched sea lanes.
- Barcelona – Shanghai: With 13% of the total searches having Barcelona as the origin, Shanghai is the most searched destination by freight forwarders. This is not a surprise as it ranks first in China‘s total international trade volume, with an import and export volume of 3,48 trillion yuan *, establishing itself as the leading container port in the world. From this port of origin, other 18 destinations were also searched such as Veracruz, Mexico (8.97%), Callao, Peru (8.54%), Buenos Aires, Argentina (8.25%), and Casablanca, Morocco (6.66%).
- Valencia – Veracruz: Due to its strategic geographic location, the Port of Veracruz has become Mexico’s main gateway to international trade. This is why almost 20.72% of the number of searches for rates are from Valencia to this destination. Also, like Barcelona, rates were searched from Valencia to 18 other destinations.
- Shanghai – Valencia: The port of Valencia takes 37.14% in searches for sea lanes from Shanghai. It’s the leading Spanish port in the Mediterranean in commercial traffic, especially containerized goods. It’s ranked as second in the Top 5 ports of Spain.
- Algeciras – Veracruz: Algeciras is the main Spanish port for freight traffic and 24.54% of the searches are from this port to Veracruz, Mexico. In addition, other destinations were searched such as Guayaquil, Ecuador, and the port of Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates.
- Ningbo – Valencia: 50.34% of the searches made from the port of Ningbo are to Valencia, Spain. Currently, the Chinese port moves 27 million TEUs per year and has a very good potential as its numbers increase every year.
As we said, to make an international shipment, the choice of sea lanes is crucial. Thus, it will be necessary to consider the main shipping trade routes that allow freight forwarders to create attractive offers for their customers and provide them the best service possible. At Cargofive, we offer a digital tool that enables freight forwarders to have greater visibility of these factors. We are just one click away!
*Source: http://www.china.org.cn/
