Recently, the annual flagship report "Review of Maritime Transport 2022" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that global seaborne trade will grow moderately by 1.4% in 2022, which is nearly two times lower than that in 2021 (3.2%). The reason is that factors such as the Russia- Ukraine conflict and the epidemic continue to disrupt the maritime supply chain.

For the next five years starting from 2023, the report predicts that the average annual growth rate of global seaborne trade will increase slightly, possibly reaching 2.1%, but overall lower than the average annual growth rate of 3.3% in the past 30 years . According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the reason for the expected slowdown in seaborne trade in the future is not only the impact of the lingering epidemic, but also the strong macroeconomic headwinds that cannot be ignored.

North American routes

According to the latest data from the CNBC supply chain heat map of the US financial website, due to the plummeting demand, US manufacturing orders in China have dropped by 40%. At a low level, the market freight rate continues to decline; according to forecast analysis, the container volume will further decrease by 2.5% in 2023, while the shipping capacity will increase by nearly 5%-6%, which will have a negative impact on the freight rate in 2023.

Market analysis : The general rate increase surcharge (GRI) is likely to be exempted in late December, and some shipping companies have announced that the freight rate will be extended until the end of December . In addition, the price of the basic port in the west of the United States has bottomed out, and the price in the east of the United States and inland points will further drop. The capacity of empty flights will account for about 23% of the total capacity in the next two weeks.

European routes

According to a report released by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in November 2022, German companies were forced to reduce production scale due to high energy costs; Moving abroad; soaring energy prices have dealt a heavy blow to European industries, and the uncertainty of the economic outlook has increased; the European Commission recently released an economic forecast report that economic activity will continue to shrink in the first quarter of next year.

Market analysis : The currently known suspension of flights of the three major alliances accounts for their total capacity, which are approximately: /40%, 2M/22%, and 0A/6% . The space in the second half of this month tends to be tight, and the congestion in major European ports continues to improve. In the past week, the average waiting time for large ships was about 3 days.

Time limit for picking up containers at each port:

Los Angeles/Long Beach/ Oakland/New York : There is currently no congested port situation, the shipping schedule is stable, and the unloading and pick-up and return of containers at all terminals are normal;

Canada : The port of Vancouver was slightly congested, and the arrival at the port was delayed for 2-3 days. If it is returned to the storage yard in other places, there will be a fee for returning the cabinet in another place;

UK : There is no congested port, and the return of cabinets is normal.

Amazon warehouse reservation and delivery status:

US Warehouse :

It is still difficult for LGB8 to get an appointment for the whole cabinet at this stage, and Amazon is very slow to release the appointment; pallet delivery: 3-4 days after the cabinet is dismantled;

/LAX9: Can enter the warehouse 2-4 days after dismantling the cabinet;

/OAK3 has been severely liquidated recently, and there will be delivery delays.

UK Warehouse : Capai’s popular warehouses have exploded. In order to ease the pressure of receiving goods from the main warehouse, some goods will be transferred to other warehouses; the two warehouses LBA4 and BHX4 have serious delays, and the delivery has been postponed for two weeks. Due to the arrival of Christmas and New Year in the UK, Amazon's warehouse explosion caused DPD to suspend delivery, and it will not start receiving delivery until January.

Canada warehouse : Vancouver/Calgary is affected by heavy snow, and the delivery is delayed. Now the UPS pick-up situation in the Vancouver area is relatively bad, the pick-up speed is slow, and the scanning online delay is 1-2 weeks; the UPS terminal delivery in the Toronto area is relatively normal, and there is an online pick-up record about 5 days after the pick-up.

Ⅰ: Amazon revised the seller's background shipment page

Recently, Amazon has changed the backend of the seller, in which the receiving information of FBA shipments has changed from "registered" to "registered + warehouse name", which makes the trajectory of the goods clearer and prevents the freight forwarder from making "far warehouse near delivery". For example, the seller's delivery address is SMF7, but the registered warehouse is XLX2 .

The inconsistency between the receiving warehouse and the delivery warehouse of the appointment order will lead to serious consequences. After receiving the goods at the warehouse in the west of the United States, Amazon has to internally dispatch and transfer the goods, which will consume a lot of time, especially in peak seasons. longer and more complicated.

Comments : This function of Amazon slashed at a small group of unscrupulous freight forwarders, so as to prevent their goods from being sent to the wrong warehouse and affect the shelves . The case of being unable to put it on the shelves for a long time .

It can be said that Amazon's seemingly careless small action is like a magic mirror, showing the original shape of a group of unscrupulous freight forwarders. At this time, Amazon should be given a big praise.

Ⅱ: Amazon launches shopping information stream Inspire

Recently, Amazon announced that it will launch a new feature called Inspire, which is similar to TikTok's interest recommendation, allowing consumers to buy items from selected pictures and videos.

Specifically, Amazon’s Inspire service will appear in the App in the form of a light bulb icon and allow consumers to choose more than 20 interests , such as cosmetics, pets and games, and then customize content accordingly. Consumers can then purchase items shared by other users, brands, and influencers.

Comments : This feature is not very eye-catching at first glance, but it is not easy for Amazon to take this step.

Keep in mind that Amazon rarely changes the way products are presented and has long used static product images and descriptions to create a unified catalog. According to their philosophy, the page should be as simple as possible, and the time for users to select products should be as short as possible. But this new feature increases the complexity of the app and prolongs the user's stay time .

Ⅲ: Shein is preparing for a third-party platform

According to the Wall Street Journal, Shein is considering developing into a third-party online marketplace that would allow third-party sellers to sell on its platform , which would put it in direct competition with e-commerce giants such as Amazon.

According to Shein, its purpose in building the marketplace platform is to increase customer satisfaction and engagement. In fact, this is not the first time Shein has tried to build an online marketplace, having launched a resale marketplace, SheinExchange, in October, allowing U.S. customers to buy and sell second-hand goods within its mobile app.

Comments : At a time when retailers see growth slowing due to economic uncertainty, the transformation of third-party e-commerce platforms will bring more sources of income to Shein. Amazon's third-party sales service brings in billions of dollars in revenue and underpins its advertising business .

For third-party sellers, Shein is attractive enough as an e-commerce platform because it has a sizable customer base and these customers are in the habit of visiting its website and app on a regular basis.

IV: US government pressures Amazon for fake reviews

In recent days, the state government of Connecticut in the United States has put pressure on Amazon to step up efforts to crack down on "rampant fake reviews" on its e-commerce platform .

It is reported that the problem of fake reviews on e-commerce sites such as Amazon and eBay has existed for many years, but since the outbreak of the epidemic, this problem has become more common. With the arrival of the holiday season, the major e-commerce platforms are flooded with counterfeit goods.

Reviews : According to a research report, about 42% of product reviews on Amazon are fake . Amazon has been fighting counterfeiting for years.

As of now, Amazon has more than 12,000 employees around the world dedicated to protecting it from fraud and abuse. Since 2020, Amazon has reported more than 10,000 fake review groups to Meta. In 2022, Amazon also teamed up with luxury jewelry brand Cartier and manufacturers such as Weber and Yeti to sue many third-party sellers.

Ⅴ: Wal-Mart launched a visual search tool TrendGetter

Wal-Mart recently announced the launch of a visual search shopping site "TrendGetter", which uses image recognition technology to search for related products based on pictures uploaded by consumers .

According to reports, consumers can visit the TrendGetter website, and then take pictures of the goods they want or upload pictures from the device. TrendGetter then finds similar items on Walmart's website, where shoppers can select and buy directly from the site.

Comments : This new service uses Google's Vision image recognition technology, which can be used to buy goods in any category, including fashion, technology, toys and decorations. Through this search method, consumers can find exactly what they want without thinking about keywords .

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