News
Last week, freight rates for services exporting containers from China continued to rise from the previous week.
Container movements increased on the U.S., Europe and other oceangoing trades due to last-minute shipments before Chinese New Year, making containerships fully loaded. The Shanghai Shipping Exchange （SSE） unveiled the China Containerized Freight Index （CCFI） was 920.56 points, going up 2.7% from a week earlier, while the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index （SCFI） was 981.05 points, up 0.6%.
With containerships destined to Europe all fully loaded, the market rates （seaborne freight rates and various charges） were $733 per TEU for services from Shanghai to Europe, up 0.4% and $772 per TEU for those to the Mediterranean, up 2.4%.
On the North America trade, the CCFIs were 891.92 points for services bound for the west coast, up 4% and 1,113.96 points for those for the east coast, up 4.1%. However, it is expected the number of bookings will decrease dramatically from the next week, as this year’s Chinese New Year falls on January 23.
Container trade between Japan and China improved slightly, and therefore, the average load factor for vessels from Shanghai to Japan was approximately 75%, stabilizing freight rates on the route. The CCFI was 774.14 points for services from China to Japan.
