The fourth quarter of each year is the traditional peak season for cross-border e-commerce. With the arrival of the overseas traditional holiday consumption season, consumers place orders intensively, and various goods are shipped from Chinese factories to the world. Cross-border e-commerce companies have ushered in the busiest period of the year. Consumer electronics and AI smart hardware have become the fastest-growing overseas categories this year. A number of new products equipped with AI technology, such as AI glasses and AI companion robots, are rapidly taking off in overseas markets.
Under the opportunity of the peak season, challenges such as rising ocean freight prices and tight shipping spaces have arisen. Enterprises, ports, and customs have collaborated to offset the pressure through model innovation and customs clearance efficiency improvements to ensure that goods can be shipped to sea efficiently.
A reporter from an export company in Shenzhen that specializes in notebook computers and mini-hosts saw that the products to be shipped that day had been packaged. The person in charge said that their order volume this year has increased by about 40% year-on-year, and the supply chain is under considerable pressure. Since the end of the third quarter, the company has entered a state of overtime work.
Another 3D printer company has over 90% of its revenue from overseas markets, mainly in North America. Its shipments in the peak season this year are two to three times higher than in the off-season. The person in charge of the corporate brand said that the company orders about 100,000 units every month, and its production capacity and logistics are already saturated, and some orders have been scheduled until next year.
The cross-border logistics warehouse in Tangxia Town, Dongguan City is close to Shenzhen. The reporter saw at the scene that goods on schedule were being sent from here to the port one by one. Some of these goods are stocked for the peak sales season at the end of the year, and the other part are reserve orders placed in advance by overseas customers in preparation for my country's Spring Festival factory holiday early next year.
In terms of categories, consumer electronics and AI smart hardware have become the fastest-growing overseas categories this year. A number of new products equipped with AI technology, such as AI glasses and AI companion robots, are rapidly taking off in overseas markets.
Yang Yi, head of overseas marketing for a major overseas e-commerce platform, said that cross-border e-commerce as a whole has maintained steady growth, and markets such as Brazil and the United States are growing at an eye-catching rate. The current stocking scale of the entire overseas warehouse has increased by more than 100%.
On the one hand, there is a concentrated release of orders during the peak season, and on the other hand, sea freight rates continue to run at a high level. Currently, the freight rates on the US-West and US-East routes are still at a high level year-on-year, and tight space and rising costs have become common problems faced by cross-border enterprises.
At a commercial logistics company in Shenzhen, business director Yu Wei told reporters that the company's U.S. business accounts for about 80% of the company's business. Since the beginning of this year, while the volume of cross-border orders has increased, sea freight prices have fluctuated violently. Nowadays, it is necessary to lock in space at least one month in advance. It is basically impossible to get space near the shipping date. "In July and August, prices may change once a week, and they are all going up. Currently, October is considered a very peak price."
The person in charge of a technology company revealed that the freight cost of a container from China to Los Angeles in the second quarter was less than US$6,000, and has now risen to about US$12,000.
Rising freight rates directly push up export costs. Home furnishing products that are large in size and have low profit margins are more obviously affected, and buyers are more conservative in stocking up. However, 3C electronic products that are small in size and have high value are relatively less affected. Facing cost pressure, the industry takes the initiative to seek changes. Wang Xin, president of the Shenzhen Cross-Border E-commerce Association, said that many merchants carry out high-quality and efficient operations in overseas warehouses, focusing on products with high profits, high added value, independent intellectual property rights and technological content.
Faced with continued high shipping prices, the cross-border e-commerce industry is ensuring shipments while also compressing logistics links and reducing overall costs through model innovation.
At a cross-border logistics station in Longhua District, Shenzhen, pieces of cross-border e-commerce packages are flowing through the sorting line and going to different smart shelves under real-time monitoring by the digital twin system. Different from the traditional "container first, inspection later", the goods here are declared and inspected in the form of bulk cargo. Abnormal goods are dropped off separately and other released goods in the same container can continue to be shipped without waiting together.
Industry insiders explain that often dozens or even hundreds of customers' goods are packed into a container. Once there are some problems with the customs declaration form of a certain cargo owner, it will be inspected by the customs, resulting in additional unpacking fees, waiting fees (overdue storage fees at the terminal) and even ship delay fees. Now "inspect first and then load" will put the inspection process in front, avoiding the original pain point of "one ticket, central control, waiting for the whole vehicle".
According to the project leader of an e-commerce logistics company, goods that adopt the "check first and then load" model can take less than 6 hours from entry and unloading to loading and shipping. The customs clearance time is reduced by 50%, and the company's comprehensive cost is reduced by 30%.
Yantian Port, the sea-going hub, is also making every effort to speed up operations. The port area has improved the loading and unloading efficiency by upgrading the route network and remote control equipment to gain more time windows for cross-border e-commerce goods to go overseas. Pang Ning, general manager of Yantian International Commercial Department, said that Yantian Port added three remote control shore cranes in the middle of the year, and will continue to add four more remote control shore cranes this year. From inspection to shipment, every link is competing for time and ensuring efficiency.
According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, my country's cross-border e-commerce exports maintained growth in the first three quarters. With improved efficiency and supply chain advantages, China's cross-border e-commerce is accelerating its overseas expansion.
