News
The composite China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI) stood at 1,857.04 points in Week 31, down 2.3% year on year, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE). As container exports from China were mostly stable last week, the composite Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) quoted 3,205.97 points, up 4.7%.
On the east-west trades, downward pressure is being exercised on freight rates for shipments to Europe as the high season has peaked. Demand is, however, still steady on the trade to North America.
The individual CCFIs were down 0.1% to 2,481.69 points to Europe, down 5.3% to 3,108.03 points to the Mediterranean, down 6.1% to 1,532.94 points to the west coast of North America, and down 0.7% to 1,757.91 points to the east coast.
On the North–South routes, the CCFIs were up 5.2% to 1,595.93 points to Australia and New Zealand, up 2.7% to 1,425.66 points to Southern Africa, and up 2.3% to 1,218.12 points to East and West Africa. On the other hand, the indices were down 1.9% to 2,915.16 points to the Middle East Gulf and the Red Sea and down 7.1% to 1,363.87 points to South America.
Within Asia, the CCFIs were up 0.8% to 932.45 points to Japan but down 0.7% to 1,066.36 points to Southeast Asia and down 4.6% to 633.18 points to South Korea.
Meanwhile, spot rates for container exports from Shanghai were down 3.7% to $3,039 per TEU to Europe and down 3.7% to $4,189 per TEU to the Mediterranean. In contrast, they jumped 12.5% to $6,229 per FEU to the west coast of North America and 12.6% to $9,054 per FEU to the east coast.
The CCFI is an indicator for freight rates for container exports from China that are transported on medium- and long-term contracts, which was set at a baseline of 1,000 points on Jan. 1, 1998. The SCFI represents spot rates for those from Shanghai that do not include terminal handling charges (THCs), which was set at the same points on Oct. 16, 2009.
