Logistics for shipping material out of China continues to be a major concern for sellers of minerals and metals, with container freight rates firm at high levels and carriers giving priority to lighter cargoes.
Sources in contact with Fastmarkets claimed that the shipping hurdles of recent months have not eased and remained a source of constant problems for the movement of material.
Freight rates for container shipments from China to the rest of the world remained in mid-March just as high as before.
Market participants had hoped that freight prices would peak in the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday in February, and then come down somewhat afterwards. This has not been the case to date.
Fastmarkets has spoken to more than half-a-dozen market participants involved in the buying or selling of minerals and metals, including magnesia, bauxite, alumina, graphite and tungsten.
"It's getting worse, not better," one seller of refractory raw materials said.
"The shipping...